The displayed C909 aircraft at the ongoing the 15th China International Aerospace Expo in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province on November 12, 2024 Photo: Courtesy of COMAC

Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), the producer of China's home-grown regional jetliner ARJ21, announced on Tuesday that the model has a new name of C909. 

The manufacturer secured 70 orders for the model from Hainan Airlines and Colorful Guizhou Airlines on the opening day of the 15th China International Aerospace Expo in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province.

As large aircraft move from research and development into the industrialization stage, an increasing number of domestically produced commercial aircraft have been put into route operation. 

COMAC's unification of aircraft product names will help shape the image of serialized products and further enhance product recognition and brand influence, COMAC said. 

Currently, COMAC has the C919 and C929 models, and the C929 wide-body passenger aircraft has a planned seating capacity of 280 and a range of 12,000 kilometers. Preliminary design work is ongoing. 

COMAC said that a total of 150 C909 aircraft have been delivered since its commercial debut in 2016, safely carrying more than 17 million passengers. 

Currently the C909 aircraft offers a variety of cabin layouts, including 78-seat two-class cabins, a 90-seat all-economy layout, and 95- or 97-seat high-density economy layouts.

The displayed C909 aircraft at the ongoing the 15th China International Aerospace Expo in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province on November 12, 2024 Photo: Courtesy of COMAC

With strong take-off and landing capabilities at airports with short and narrow runways, the aircraft's ability to withstand crosswinds makes it highly adaptable to the operating environments in China's frontiers, Southeast Asia, Africa and other overseas regions, COMAC said.

In addition, the C909 aircraft can use sustainable aviation fuel blended up to 50 percent for commercial flights to meet the diverse needs of customers.

Regarding the new orders, Hainan Airlines placed a confirmed order for 40 C909s. Colorful Guizhou Airlines placed an order for 30 C909 aircraft, of which 20 are confirmed orders and 10 are intention orders.

"This name highlights COMAC's strong focus on domestic regional aircraft and signifies its increasing attention to this segment," Lin Zhijie, an independent market analyst, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

According to Lin, the new name underscores COMAC's commitment to developing a serialized range of aircraft models and signals plans to expand the 9x9 series further.

"The real competition in the aircraft industry is in the model range," Lin noted, adding that manufacturers are working toward meeting the full range of customer needs through diverse model offerings.

At the ongoing Zhuhai Airshow, COMAC brought seven aircraft to the exhibition and partnered with more than 50 domestic and international companies to create the country's first commercial aircraft industry pavilion.