China Eastern Orders 100 Comac C919s

China Eastern Airlines has announced an order for 100 Comac C919 aircraft.

The aircraft will be delivered from the state-owned manufacturer as part of China Eastern’s long-term plans.

At list price value, the deal is worth some USD 10 billion. However, substantial discounts aren’t uncommon to be handed out to customers. Given the relationship between the pair, it can be expected that the list price value took a considerable amount off.

Comac saw the C919 enter commercial operations in May of 2023, and it has since been delivered to customers who have committed to the aircraft. It adds to an existing portfolio of jets produced by the plane maker.

Notably, Chian Eastern took delivery of its first C919 in 2022 towards the backend, with its second delivered in July of 2023.

The expected deliveries will occur between 2024 and 2031 for these 100 units. The deal is also the largest for this jet that Comac has received, and they’ll be hopeful the sales can continue.

Cormac’s C919 is their answer to rival Airbus and Boeing’s narrowbody alternatives. They hope as deliveries for Chinese customers of the 737 MAX remain suspended, they can pounce on growing demand with an aircraft ready.

Per Reuters, the expectation is that Comac will primarily utilise the China Eastern testbed for their C919 and highlight the plane’s reliability to more customers.