China-developed ARJ21 delivered to 2nd operator
The first ARJ21 with Genghis Khan Airlines berths at the Dachang airport in Shanghai on Friday.
China's home-developed regional jet, the ARJ21, was delivered on Friday to its second operator, the newly established Genghis Khan Airlines based in Inner Mongolia.
An ARJ21 with a brand-new livery departed from Dachang airport in Shanghai at 12:08pm and landed at Hohhot Baita International Airport, the base of its carrier, at 3:02pm.
It is expected to start commercial operation by the end of March with Genghis Khan, the second operator of the ARJ21 following Chengdu Airlines, said Bai Yimeng, vice president of Genghis Khan.
The Inner Mongolian carrier, approved by the Civil Aviation Administration of China in March 2018, plans to operate with a wholly domestic-developed fleet. It plans to purchase a total of 25 ARJ21s within five years and will begin receiving the C919, China's first home-developed narrow-body jet, after that, Bai told Shanghai Daily.
Its first ARJ21 will be mainly deployed to fly among regional airports within Inner Mongolia.
The regional jet is quite suitable for the high land terrain of Inner Mongolia. A seven-hour highway drive, for instance, can be shortened to roughly an hour, according to the carrier.
The first ARJ21 for Genghis Khan Airlines taxis at Dachang airport in Shanghai on Friday.
Three ARJ21s with Genghis Khan Airlines and Chengdu Airlines at Dachang airport in Shanghai.
The cabin space of the ARJ21 is wider than other mainstream regional jets and more comfortable for passengers onboard, said Li Weiqun, a captain with the carrier. The cockpit also features many automated facilities, he added.
Genghis Khan plans to take over its second ARJ21 by the end of March.
Urumqi Air will become the third operator of the ARJ21 and will receive its first one soon.
The carrier, which is based in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, said the aircraft can resist low-temperature and highland conditions, and are therefore capable of taking off and landing at airports in northwest China.
Currently, the jet’s sole operator, Chengdu Airlines, operates 11 ARJ21s to 20 Chinese cities. The ARJ21 fleet has transported about 270,000 passengers since the jet started commercial operation in June 2016.
More than 100 ARJ21s will be delivered in the next five years to challenge the domination of Bombardier and Embraer in regional services, according to the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), the developer of the ARJ21 and C919.
The first ARJ21 with Genghis Khan Airlines berths at Dachang airport in Shanghai on Friday.
The first ARJ21 with Genghis Khan Airlines berths at Dachang airport in Shanghai on Friday.
The first ARJ21 with Genghis Khan Airlines berths at Dachang airport in Shanghai on Friday.
A flight attendant poses in the cabin of the first ARJ21 with Genghis Khan Airlines on Friday.
