China-made jet decked out in colorful livery
The captain poses with the newly painted ARJ21 with Genghis Khan Airlines.
China’s first domestically developed regional jet adorned in bright green livery was unveiled in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Tuesday.
The ARJ21 for Genghis Khan Airlines, the jet’s second operator, landed at the Hohhot Baita International Airport at 11:30am. It features a green livery with the logo and name of the Inner Mongolia rural credit cooperative, the region’s largest financial institute, which mainly serves farmers and herdsmen.
The Inner Mongolian carrier, approved by the Civil Aviation Administration of China in March 2018, plans to operate with a wholly domestically developed fleet. It took delivery of its first ARJ21 in Shanghai in February 2019.
The airline plans to purchase a total of 25 ARJ21s within five years and will later begin receiving the C919, China's first home-developed narrow-body jet.
The carrier has been operating flights among seven destinations within the region, including Hohhot, Xilinhot, Ulanhot and Hailar. It has transported nearly 130,000 travelers.
The ARJ21 sports a green livery with the logo and name of the Inner Mongolia rural credit cooperative.
It aims to open 60 flights within five years to improve transportation within Inner Mongolia and explore the marketing and industrial development of the domestically developed jet, according to the carrier.
The ARJ21 regional jet, with eight premier and 70 economy-class seats, is suitable for the high terrain of Inner Mongolia. A seven-hour highway drive within the region, for instance, can be shortened to roughly an hour by air.
The newly unveiled livery is part of the airline’s plan to showcase China’s national brands and the image of the region. Apart from the credit institute, it has also cooperated with diary giant Yili, the organizing committee of the 14th National Winter Games, the city government of Erdos and the Inner Mongolia Bank on brand establishment and title sponsoring of the China-developed airliners.
The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), the jet’s developer, has so far delivered over 30 ARJ21s to Air China, China Eastern, China Southern, Chengdu Airlines, Jiangxi Air, Urumqi Air and Genghis Khan Airlines. Orders for the ARJ21 total about 600 units from over 20 domestic and international customers, according to COMAC.
Over 1 million passengers have now traveled on the ARJ21 via multiple Chinese carriers. Since the jet started commercial operations with Chengdu Airlines in June 2016, it has connected 56 domestic and international cities. Also planned are additional short and medium-haul routes to eastern Russia, Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia and South Asia.
