One Two Three Airlines takes off in Shanghai
Officials unveil OTT Airlines in Shanghai on Wednesday.
OTT Airlines, a new Shanghai-based carrier, was established on Wednesday mainly to operate China's domestically developed passenger jets.
The wholly owned subsidiary of China Eastern Airlines will operate both commercial and business jets based out of the Hongqiao International Airport.
Its fleet will be mainly composed of ARJ21 regional jets and C919 single-aisle aircraft along with other Chinese-developed passenger aircraft.
The carrier's network will cover the Yangtze River Delta region as well as China's other coastal regions and neighboring areas. It will fly both regional and long-haul routes.
"The new airline marks the first step of China Eastern to operate and support domestically developed passenger jets," said Liu Shaoyong, president of CEA Holding.
"The airline aims to help accumulate experience for domestically developed jets and let them fly higher, farther and better," he said at the launch ceremony.
OTT stands for One Two Three, a name inspired by the "Tao Te Ching," a classic text from the ancient philosopher Lao Tzu. The name could also represent "On-time Travel" and "Over-the-top Travel" to showcase its ambitions, according to the China Eastern.
China Eastern signed a contract with the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) in August 2019 to purchase 35 ARJ21-700 regional jets. It also signed a purchase intention with COMAC for 20 C919s in 2010.
In another agreement with COMAC in 2016, China Eastern was named as the world's first operator of the C919.
The C919, with 168 seats and a range of 5,555 kilometers, will compete for orders with the Airbus 320 neo and the Boeing 737 MAX.
COMAC has secured 850 orders from 30 foreign and domestic airlines for the C919. The first C919 made its maiden flight from Shanghai on May 5, 2017.
The ARJ21 regional aircraft is undergoing commercial operation by linking 38 cities from home and abroad. The jetliners have carried a total of 690,000 passengers on 37 air routes, said COMAC.
An ARJ21-700 jetliner in OTT Airlines livery.
