Summary
- China Eastern Airlines has announced the largest-ever order of 100 COMAC C919 aircraft worth around $10 billion, signaling confidence in the rebound of China’s travel industry.
- The new aircraft will be delivered gradually, starting with five planes in 2023, and the delivery rate is expected to increase in the subsequent years.
- The C919s will be primarily used on important business and tourism trunk routes within China, aligning with the carrier’s fleet renewal plan and the industry’s recovery trend.
China Eastern Airlines announced that it will acquire 100 more COMAC C919 aircraft. The deal marks the largest order of the narrowbody to date and is worth around $10 billion at list prices. The aircraft is set to support the carrier’s short-haul fleet as travel in China rebounds. p
The latest from the launch customer
China Eastern Airlines is the world’s largest user of the C919 large passenger aircraft. The carrier currently flies two single-aisle aircraft manufactured by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC). The new aircraft purchase agreement was signed today in Shanghai and adds 100 C919s to the first order for five aircraft signed in 2021.
This is, by far, the largest single order for the C919 to date. According to the agreement, the new aircraft will be delivered incrementally, beginning with five panes arriving next year. Deliveries of this type are predicted to accelerate in the coming years. Up to ten aircraft are planned to be delivered to China Eastern each year from 2025 to 2027; this will rise to 15 aircraft annually from 2028 to 2030, and 20 aircraft are expected to be delivered in 2031.
The order was notably announced on the first anniversary of the C919 receiving its type certificate.
The China Eastern C919 fleet today
The airline was the launch customer of the type and officially received the world’s first C919 aircraft from COMAC on December 9th, 2022. Following a significant training and introduction process, China Eastern Airlines successfully completed the first commercial flight of the C919 with a service from Shanghai to Beijing on May 28th. Later this summer, on July 16th, China Eastern Airlines received the second C919, which has been flying with the carrier since.
China Eastern Airlines’ two C919 aircraft have accumulated a total of 1,140 hours of safe flight as of Tuesday, September 26th. Of those, 867 hours have been in commercial operations across 296 commercial flights, with an average passenger load factor of over 73%. Together, the two aircraft have carried more than 35,000 passengers.
Representatives for China Eastern Airlines confirmed that two C919s are operating in normal technical conditions and have a record of safe flight performance, stating:
“The overall performance is basically in line with the company’s expectations.”
Flights on the aircraft feature “Chinese style” safety demonstration videos, themed meals, and C919 exclusive electronic boarding passes that have resonated well with passengers.
Where will they be used?
The carrier and COMAC confirmed today that China Eastern Airlines will primarily utilize the new batch of C919s on important business and tourism trunk markets. Since the beginning of this year, China’s civil aviation industry has shown steady growth and recovery. China Eastern Airlines domestic flight frequencies so far this year have surpassed pre-pandemic levels to 105% of 2019 number. International flights are still catching up but are predicted to return to 85% of 2019 by the end of this year.
The incoming airplanes will feature heavily in China Eastern Airlines’s fleet renewal plan. More than 200 narrowbody passenger aircraft are expected to withdraw from the fleet from 2024 to 2031. Boeing’s 737 MAX plane, a key competitor in the sector, has yet to resume deliveries in the country.