China’s C919 gets another 100 orders in biggest deal yet, but when will they land?
- China Eastern Airlines, the first commercial operator of nation’s home-grown narrowbody passenger jet, has flown 35,000 passengers on the C919 since its maiden flight in May
- New deal is worth nearly US$10 billion, but the state-owned airline was said to receive a bulk-order discount
China’s flagship narrowbody airliner has received its largest purchase order yet – adding to a huge backlog that is expected to take several years to fulfil as the plane’s maker aims to reshape the passenger-aircraft market now dominated by Boeing and Airbus.
China Eastern Airlines, the world’s first operator of the C919, said it signed a contract on Thursday with the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) to buy 100 more units of the passenger plane, on top of the five it ordered in 2021.
Five are to be delivered in 2024, 10 will be delivered annually in the following three years, and 15 will follow each year from 2028-30, it said. Annual deliveries are expected to reach 20 in 2031.
The new order is worth US$9.9 billion at list prices, but the airline said a discount was applied for the bulk order.
