Summary
- China Eastern Airlines has announced the largest-ever order of 100 COMAC C919 aircraft value around $10 billion, signaling confidence within the rebound of China’s travel industry.
- The brand new aircraft shall be delivered regularly, starting with five planes in 2023, and the delivery rate is anticipated to extend in the following years.
- The C919s shall be primarily used on necessary business and tourism trunk routes inside China, aligning with the carrier’s fleet renewal plan and the industry’s recovery trend.
China Eastern Airlines announced that it is going to acquire 100 more COMAC C919 aircraft. The deal marks the biggest order of the narrowbody up to now and is value around $10 billion at list prices. The aircraft is ready to support the carrier’s short-haul fleet as travel in China rebounds. p
The most recent from the launch customer
China Eastern Airlines is the world’s largest user of the C919 large passenger aircraft. The carrier currently flies two single-aisle aircraft manufactured by the Industrial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC). The brand new aircraft purchase agreement was signed today in Shanghai and adds 100 C919s to the primary order for five aircraft signed in 2021.
That is, by far, the biggest single order for the C919 up to now. In response to the agreement, the brand new aircraft shall be delivered incrementally, starting with five panes arriving next yr. Deliveries of this sort are predicted to speed up in the approaching years. As much as ten aircraft are planned to be delivered to China Eastern every year from 2025 to 2027; it will rise to fifteen aircraft annually from 2028 to 2030, and 20 aircraft are expected to be delivered in 2031.
Flights on the aircraft feature “Chinese style” safety demonstration videos, themed meals, and C919 exclusive electronic boarding passes which have resonated well with passengers.
Where will they be used?
The carrier and COMAC confirmed today that China Eastern Airlines will primarily utilize the brand new batch of C919s on necessary business and tourism trunk markets. For the reason that starting of this yr, China’s civil aviation industry has shown regular growth and recovery. China Eastern Airlines domestic flight frequencies to date this yr have surpassed pre-pandemic levels to 105% of 2019 number. International flights are still catching up but are predicted to return to 85% of 2019 by the tip of this yr.
The incoming airplanes will feature heavily in China Eastern Airlines’s fleet renewal plan. Greater than 200 narrowbody passenger aircraft are expected to withdraw from the fleet from 2024 to 2031. Boeing’s 737 MAX plane, a key competitor within the sector, has yet to resume deliveries within the country.