Ambitious course set for airliner market

China aims to take one-third of the global market for turboprop airliners with the MA-700, a cutting-edge aircraft currently under development, according to the aircraft's chief designer.

"The MA-700 will make its maiden flight in the first half of 2017 and is set to be delivered to buyers in 2019. At least 50 planes will be made each year," Dong Jianhong, a senior designer at Aviation Industry Corp of China, told China Daily in an exclusive interview. "I am convinced that after the aircraft enters service, it will help us obtain at least 30 percent of the international turboprop airliner market within about 10 years."

He said that compared with its predecessors, the MA-60 family, the MA-700 is a new design with lower operational and maintenance costs and more eco-friendly technologies.