Guests pose for photos with a newly-delivered ARJ21 jetliner at the Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport in Chongqing, southwest China, Nov. 10, 2020. China Express Airlines, a Chinese private regional carrier, received its first ARJ21 regional jetliner on Tuesday in Chongqing Municipality, according to the aircraft's developer. The plane will join the fleet of China Express and sustain the airline's progress in regional air transport, said the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC). This is the 39th ARJ21 aircraft delivered into the market since the first one was put in service in 2016. The delivery shows the plane has gained recognition from more customers after more than four years of commercial operations, COMAC said. (Xinhua/Liu Chan)

 
Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) has accelerated the delivery pace of the domestically made ARJ21, China's civil aviation regulator said on Wednesday. 

Yang Zhenmei, an official from Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said the producer delivered the first ARJ21 in 2015, one in 2016, two in 2017, and six in 2018. A total of 12 aircraft were delivered in 2019, and 19 this year. 

So far, the manufacturer has delivered 41 ARJ21 to eight domestic customers, with the first order rolling off the production line in 2015. 

The Chinese-developed ARJ21 regional aircraft has transported more than 1.31 million passengers across commercial operations, according to COMAC in November.

The company attributed to the growth of advancement of ARJ21 flights to continuous deliveries and expanded commercial markets, enhancing the reputation of the aircraft. 

As China's first turbofan regional passenger jetliner, the ARJ21 is designed with a capacity of 78 to 90 seats and a range of 3,700 km. The plane can fly in alpine and plateau regions and adapt to a range of airport conditions. The ARJ21 aircraft was put into commercial service in June 2016 by carrier Chengdu Airlines. 

Regarding the C919 model certification work, Yang said that this year has completed a number of special tests such as the crosswind special ground test, high temperature and high humidity, high temperature test flights, in addition to several flutter/aero-servo elasticity (ASE) tests. 

Yang also said China's planned wide-body jet venture with Russia C929 has not submitted model application to the regulator yet, the CAAC and its Russian partner are currently researching the airworthiness certification criteria for the model.

Global Times