Explainer | Here are China’s 4 commercial jets, from the ARJ21 and C919 to the jumbo C929 and C939

The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China has put two passenger planes in the air and has lofty ambitions for home-grown production

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China’s C919 passenger jet debuted in May 2023 as part of China Eastern Airlines fleet. Photo: CAAC

Published: 7:00am, 30 Jul 2024Updated: 9:23am, 30 Jul 2024

The state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) has put two types of civilian jets in the air and two bigger ones on the drawing board after 22 years of work.

Comac aims to advance China’s goal of technological self-sufficiency and sell its aircraft overseas. The Shanghai-based manufacturer seeks to compete largely with Airbus and Boeing, because their aircraft have similar specs.

Here is a dossier on each of the four aircraft types:

1. ARJ21 small aircraft

The ARJ21 covers a series of turbofan aircraft for 78 to 97 seats and relatively short flights of 2,225 to 3,700km (1,382-2,299 miles) – far enough to fly popular domestic routes in China. ARJ stands for “advanced regional jet”.

ARJ21 development started in 2002, and the aircraft flew six years later. Regional carrier Chengdu Airlines began using the aircraft – China’s first for civilian use – in 2015, and TransNusa Airlines of Indonesia has bought the planes since 2022. An estimated 100 have been sold altogether.

Comac reported a combined 200,000 flight hours for this aircraft type as of March last year, according to the CAPA Centre for Aviation market research organisation.

The ARJ21 compares in size to the defunct Boeing 717, the retired McDonnell Douglas MD 80-90 line of planes, and the Embraer E190-E2 model.