China delivers first home-grown ARJ21 jetliner overseas, to Indonesia, after year delay
- China’s Comac has delivered 27 ARJ21s this year and a total of 93 since production began, mostly to domestic carriers, according to Swiss aviation data provider
- With further experience gained outside of China, the homegrown ARJ21 is expected to operate in more markets in the future
China delivered its ARJ21 home-grown passenger jetliner to Indonesian airline TransNusa on Sunday, bringing the jet into a foreign market for the first time.
The flight range of the standard ARJ21 is between 2,225km and 3,700km, which meets the requirement of connecting destinations through one or more central airports, as well as from central cities to other neighbouring small and medium-sized cities, Comac said in a statement on its website.
Switzerland-based aviation intelligence provider ch-aviation.com said: “The Indonesian low-cost carrier was meant to take the plane late last year – the first of 30 it was due from [Comac]. But owing to the pandemic and the suspension of TransNusa flights, the delivery was deferred.”
China Aircraft Leasing Group Holdings is the actual controlling enterprise of TransNusa, the state-run Global Times reported. In March 2020, the Chinese company acquired a 35.68 per cent stake in the Indonesian airline through an indirect investment for a total cash consideration of US$28 million.
