SINGAPORE: China's Tibet Airlines on Tuesday (Feb 20) finalised an order for 40 C919 narrow-body jets and 10 ARJ21 regional jets from COMAC designed to be suitable for high-altitude plateaus, becoming the launch customer for a new variant the Chinese state-owned planemaker is developing.
The two companies signed the deal at a ceremony on the sidelines of the Singapore Airshow.
The announcement came after Tibet Airlines and COMAC in December announced that they would jointly research a shortened variant of the C919 that will seat 140 to 160 passengers and can take off and land at high-altitude airports.
The Chinese state-backed Henan Civil Aviation Development and Investment Group on Tuesday also signed an agreement with COMAC for six planes derived from the smaller ARJ21 specialised for firefighting, medical services and emergency management.
Representatives of COMAC and Tibet Airlines finalise an order for 40 C919 narrow-body jets and 10 ARJ21 regional jets at the Changi Exhibition Centre on Feb 20, 2024, during the Singapore Airshow. (Photo: Reuters/Edgar Su)
Models of COMAC aircraft are seen at the Changi Exhibition Centre on Feb 20, 2024, during the Singapore Airshow. (Photo: Reuters/Edgar Su)
A COMAC C919 is displayed at the Changi Exhibition Centre on Feb 20, 2024, during the Singapore Airshow. (Photo: Reuters/Edgar Su)
COMAC's C919 is on its first trip outside Chinese territory in Singapore, and the Chinese planemaker is positioning the jet as a viable alternative to the Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX single-aisle jet families, as they struggle to meet demand for new planes, and Boeing grapples with a string of crises.
The plane is only certified within China and the first of now four C919s began flying with China Eastern Airlines last year.
COMAC has received more than 1,000 C919 orders so far, state media reported last September, mostly from Chinese airlines and lessors.
Gao Dongyue, an executive at Tibet Airlines, told Reuters that research to develop the C919 high-altitude variant was ongoing but that they could not yet disclose a timeline for the aircraft.
"We have a lot of experience in this area," he said. "And we're taking into consideration all possible routes that could be suitable for the plane."
Tibet Airlines mainly flies domestically but also has routes to places such as Nepal's capital Kathmandu.
In September, GallopAir, a new Brunei-based airline, said it planned to buy 30 aircraft from COMAC, including the C919, which would mark the narrow-body jet's first overseas purchase.
Little is known about GallopAir, which is expected to be only the second Brunei-based airline operator after national carrier Royal Brunei Airlines. The company has said it intends to provide flights in the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area.
Once completed, the deal would make GallopAir the second international operator of Chinese-made aircraft after Indonesian low-cost carrier TransNusa, which operates a small fleet of the ARJ21s.
COMAC also brought the ARJ21 to Singapore for a flying display. The company commenced commercial operations for the ARJ21 in 2016 and has delivered 127 of the planes so far.
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The two companies signed the deal at a ceremony on the sidelines of the Singapore Airshow.
The announcement came after Tibet Airlines and COMAC in December announced that they would jointly research a shortened variant of the C919 that will seat 140 to 160 passengers and can take off and land at high-altitude airports.
The Chinese state-backed Henan Civil Aviation Development and Investment Group on Tuesday also signed an agreement with COMAC for six planes derived from the smaller ARJ21 specialised for firefighting, medical services and emergency management.
Representatives of COMAC and Tibet Airlines finalise an order for 40 C919 narrow-body jets and 10 ARJ21 regional jets at the Changi Exhibition Centre on Feb 20, 2024, during the Singapore Airshow. (Photo: Reuters/Edgar Su)
Models of COMAC aircraft are seen at the Changi Exhibition Centre on Feb 20, 2024, during the Singapore Airshow. (Photo: Reuters/Edgar Su)
A COMAC C919 is displayed at the Changi Exhibition Centre on Feb 20, 2024, during the Singapore Airshow. (Photo: Reuters/Edgar Su)
COMAC's C919 is on its first trip outside Chinese territory in Singapore, and the Chinese planemaker is positioning the jet as a viable alternative to the Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX single-aisle jet families, as they struggle to meet demand for new planes, and Boeing grapples with a string of crises.
The plane is only certified within China and the first of now four C919s began flying with China Eastern Airlines last year.
COMAC has received more than 1,000 C919 orders so far, state media reported last September, mostly from Chinese airlines and lessors.
Gao Dongyue, an executive at Tibet Airlines, told Reuters that research to develop the C919 high-altitude variant was ongoing but that they could not yet disclose a timeline for the aircraft.
"We have a lot of experience in this area," he said. "And we're taking into consideration all possible routes that could be suitable for the plane."
Tibet Airlines mainly flies domestically but also has routes to places such as Nepal's capital Kathmandu.
In September, GallopAir, a new Brunei-based airline, said it planned to buy 30 aircraft from COMAC, including the C919, which would mark the narrow-body jet's first overseas purchase.
Little is known about GallopAir, which is expected to be only the second Brunei-based airline operator after national carrier Royal Brunei Airlines. The company has said it intends to provide flights in the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area.
Once completed, the deal would make GallopAir the second international operator of Chinese-made aircraft after Indonesian low-cost carrier TransNusa, which operates a small fleet of the ARJ21s.
COMAC also brought the ARJ21 to Singapore for a flying display. The company commenced commercial operations for the ARJ21 in 2016 and has delivered 127 of the planes so far.
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