China Leasing firms have signed orders for a combined 300 C919s and 30 ARJ21s. – Bloomberg
BEIJING: Chinese planemaker Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (Comac) said it has secured 330 orders for its homegrown C919 narrowbody and ARJ21 regional jets, raising its 20-year aircraft demand forecast at the country’s biggest air show.
China Development Bank Leasing, ICBC Leasing, CMB Financial Leasing, Bocom Leasing, CCB Financial Leasing, SPDB Financial Leasing and Jiangsu Financial Leasing on Tuesday signed orders for a combined 300 C919s and 30 ARJ21s at Airshow China in the southern city of Zhuhai, Comac said in a statement yesterday.
As with previous announcements, it was not immediately clear how many were firm orders or expressions of interest, and no delivery dates were provided.
Before the latest deals, there had been 815 orders for the C919 from 28 customers, according to Comac’s website.
But China Eastern Airlines is the only customer that has announced a firm delivery schedule.
It expects to receive its first plane in December and another four next year.
The C919 is China’s rival to the popular Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX narrowbody jet families, as the country looks to become more self-sufficient.
Comac said on Tuesday that China would need 9,284 new aircraft over the next 20 years to meet market demand, 200 more than in its forecast last year. — Reuters
