Hainan Airlines Group has announced that it’ll purchase 60 Comac C919s and 40 ARJ21 regional jets in a significant commitment of 100 aircraft for its future operations.
The deal was signed in China at the end of April and is significant for both the group and Comac’s aircraft programs.
The aircraft types will be distributed to Urumqi Air and Suparna Airlines. These two carriers fall under the Hainan Airlines Holding Group. The commitment has sparked interest as it’s a valuable testing period for the group to understand the aircraft’s capabilities better.
Through this purchase, Hainan will be able to evaluate whether the Comac aircraft can serve more important routes looking ahead with other brands in the group too.
The ARJ21 is a regional aircraft that can fit around 90 passengers. However, capacity will depend on the respective airlines’ chosen configuration.
Meanwhile, the C919 can seat around 160 passengers and travel between 4,000 and 5,500 kilometres. However, while these remain options for airlines, the Comac series has yet to break through globally truly.
Despite this, other manufacturers remain wary and watch over Comac’s developments and progress. Given Asia’s importance for companies such as Airbus and Boeing, they must keep their presence felt in these markets and continue dialogue with valuable customers.
Current airlines with orders or options for the C919 are Air China, China Eastern, China Southern, Sichuan Airlines and now Hainan.
Meanwhile, current airlines with the ARJ21 series on their books include Air China, Chengdu Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, China Express Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Genghis Khan Airlines, Jiangxi Air, OTT Airlines, Shandong Airlines, Shanghai Airlines and now Hainan Airlines too.
