Homegrown passenger jet takes on third route at China Southern

SHANGHAI－China's independently developed ARJ21 regional aircraft has been flying a new route operated by China Southern Airlines, according to its developer Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China.

The route connects Shanghai and Jieyang in South China's Guangdong province. It is the airline's third route on which an ARJ21 operates, said COMAC.

China Southern received its first ARJ21 on June 28 and began using the aircraft on commercial flights from July 15. Gradually, it was put into service on the Guangzhou-Jieyang and Guangzhou-Zhanjiang routes in Guangdong. To date, the airline has used the ARJ21 to carry more than 10,000 passengers.

According to the airline's fleet development plan, it will receive two more ARJ21 airplanes in 2020. By 2024, it is expected to have 35 ARJ21 airplanes.

Guangzhou-headquartered China Southern is the largest airline in Asia, with a fleet of more than 860 airplanes by the end of 2019.

The carrier is now using the ARJ21 to aid air travel in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Yangtze River Delta.

Through its experiences of the ARJ21, China Southern is expected to develop more routes for the aircraft based on its range, economic efficiency and other performance parameters.

The ARJ21 is China's first turbofan regional passenger jetliner. Designed with a capacity of 78-90 seats and a range of 3,700 kilometers, it can fly in alpine and plateau regions and adapt to a variety of airport conditions.

A pioneer of Chinese commercial airplanes, the ARJ21 was put into commercial service in June 2016 by Chengdu Airlines.

On June 28, COMAC delivered one ARJ21 for each of the country's three major carriers: Air China, China Eastern Airlines, and China Southern. The deliveries marked the arrival of a homegrown jetliner in the domestic mainstream civil aviation market.

As of the end of August, COMAC has delivered a total of 33 ARJ21 planes. Airlines are using them on 73 routes, connecting 62 cities, according to COMAC.

Xinhua