Carried Passengers From Chengdu To Shanghai

The new regional jet built by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) made it first revenue flight late last month.

USA Today reports that, according to the Associated Press, the Comac ARJ21-700 airliner carried 70 passengers for Chengdu Airlines on a two-hour domestic flight from Chengdu to Shanghai.

China hopes the airplane can become a competitor to regional jets built by Embraer and Bombardier, as well as the single-aisle offerings from Boeing and Airbus. But China has not yet gotten type certification from the FAA to allow the airplane to operate in U.S. airspace. The French news service AFP reports that most manufacturers do not see the ARJ21-700 as significant competition for their businesses.

The plane is expected to be popular with Chinese airlines, many of which are state-owned and will buy the airplanes the government tells them to buy. With the Chinese market for commercial aviation growing, some sales that might have otherwise gone to the more established manufacturers will now likely go to Comac.

Chinese officials touted the ARJ21-700 as a domestically-produced product. But The Wall Street Journal notes that it looks a lot like an MD-90, and relies on Rockwell Collins avionics, GE engines and wings manufactured in Ukraine.

(Image provided with Comac news release)

FMI: http://english.comac.cc