COMAC to Deliver First ARJ21 to Chengdu Airlines in November

Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. (COMAC) is working toward an internal target to deliver its first ARJ21-700 regional jet to the launch customer Chengdu Airlines (EU) on November 28, 2015, China National Radio reported.

ARJ21, short for Advanced Regional Jet for the 21st Century, is equipped with 78 seats in a two-class configuration (including eight first class seats) and 90 seats in a full economy class configuration. Its economic life is designed to be 60,000 flying hours or 20 calendar years.

The Chinese jet maker is scheduled to deliver five regional jets to Chengdu Airlines this year, which will then be put into commercial service next February, according to the media report.

COMAC began the half-year route-proving campaign on March 16, using its ARJ21-700 regional jets. The first phase of route proving trails are being routed based at Nantong Xingdong Airport and Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU), around Beijing, Tianjin, Wuhan, Nanjing, Fuzhou, Guiyang and Changsha. The Chinese airframer started the second phase route-proving trails in late July, which mainly based at Chengdu Airport, around Wuhan, Wenzhou, Fuzhou and Nanjing. Recently, COMAC has completed all route-proving trails in advance of schedule.

Meanwhile, the manufacturer is still working on improvements to the ARJ21 despite receiving type certification from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) last December. Zhao Keliang, vice chief designer of the programme said in an interview that while the issues do not relate to the safety of the aircraft, they could affect the operational efficiency of the jet.

Examples include changes that need to be made to improve how the aircraft's anti-icing system functions in the case of a single-engine operation, as well as to its warning system to help enhance pilots' operational awareness and help them better anticipate possible flying situations, Zhao added.

Furthermore, requests from Chengdu Airlines are also taken into account, such as smoothing out sharp edges in the interior of the aircraft, Zhao said.

Chengdu Airlines, a subsidiary of COMAC and all-Airbus operator, will initially take delivery of five of 30 ARJ21-700s it has on order. Those five regional jets are expected to operate domestic routes from Chengdu to Shanghai Pudong, Nanjing, Kunming, Xi'an, Guiyang, Beijing and Wuhan.

To date, COMAC has received a total of 315 orders for the type from 19 customers at home and abroad.