Industry COMAC celebrates 1 million passengers onboard ARJ21 aircraft

Chengdu Airlines flight EU6674 took off from Shangrao Sanqingshan Airport and landed at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport with the 1,000,000th passenger on board. This is a new milestone in the aircraft program and underlines, that the aircraft has been well intergrated to the market.

Four years ago, Chengdu Airlines celebrated the entry into service of its ARJ21 aircraft. Over the years, the carrier took delivery of 21 aircraft and opened 46 domestic and international routes among 43 cities with the aircraft.

Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Genghis Khan Airlines and Jiangxi Air have also received ARJ21 aircraft. 33 airframes have been delivered to these carriers and routes have been opened in North China, Northeast China, Southwest China and South China.

Chengdu Airlines has been a pioneer and forerunner in operating the ARJ21. The airline has been using the aircraft now for years and has established a perfected aircraft operation management system. A maintenance support system has been built, as well as a training system.

Also, new operational bases have been established in Harbin and Weihai to enhance the connections to destinations abroad. To better reach the Russian Far East, Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia and part of South Asia, Chengdu Airlines is planning to open a base in Pan-Beibu.

The 1,000,000th passenger underlines, that the ARJ21 has well arrived in the Chinese regional and international airline market and is well-suited for everyday operations. It also shows Chengdu Airline´s willingness to support the countries´ economy by purchasing the Chinese-built aircraft and by opening new routes to new cities.

In November 2008, COMAC celebrated the first flight of the ARJ21 and delivered the first aircraft in June 2016. The aircraft was developed to offer a Chinese pendant to western aircraft types from Airbus, Boeing or Bombardier. Most Chinese aircraft are being subsidized to purchase the aircraft.

The ARJ21 is being powered by two rear-mounted General Electric CF34 engines and can seat up to 105 passengers. There are two variants of the aircraft, the ARJ21-700 and ARJ21-900. The baseline model can seat up to 90 passengers in a single-class configuration.

Chengdu Airlines is a Chinese airline, which started operations in January 2010. The airline´s main hub is at Chengdu Shuangliu Airport and currently, Chengdu flies with four Airbus A319s, 32 A320s and 15 COMAC ARJ21-700.