COMAC's 6th ARJ21 Takes Off on First Passenger Flight

An ARJ21-700 regional jet built by Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. (COMAC) took off from Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) on Monday morning with passengers on board for the first in a series of route proving trials, an important step toward the ARJ21's entry into service later this year.

The twin-engine ARJ21-700 (serial number 106) took part in a special commemorative flight carrying the VIP passengers for a ride from Shanghai to Tianjin on Mar. 16. It is the first passenger flight for the home-made regional jet.

The special flight B-0110L was scheduled to arrive in Tianjin at 1:00 p.m., and then head toward Nantong after a short break. During the flight, the passengers, comprised of employees and cabin experts led by COMAC's general manager He Dongfeng and deputy manager Wu Guanghui and Chengdu Airlines' general manager Sui Mingguang, will put the cabin through its paces. The flight crew includes a Capitan, a co-pilot, an inspector and two flight attendants.

The test flights are being routed based at Nantong Xingdong Airport (NTG) and Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU), around Beijing, Tianjin, Wuhan, Nanjing, Fuzhou, Guiyang and Changsha. The route proving tests will last for a half year, the manufacturer said on Monday.

The ARJ21-700 performing the flights is one of the first two ones to be delivered to its launch customer Chengdu Airlines (EU), which has been fitted in Shanghai, with a total of 90 standard economy seats in a 2-3 layout. It is learnt that there is 78 seats in a dual-class configuration with 8 first class seats in the first two rows, arranged 2-2 and 70 economy seats stacked 2-3. Its economic life is designed for 60,000 flying hours or 20 calendar years.

The ARJ21, short for Advanced Regional Jet for the 21st Century, is a type of regional aircraft designed and manufactured by COMAC. The ARJ21-700 was officially certified by the Civil Aviation Administration of China at the end of last year. According to sources familiar with the matter, the first two ARJ21s will be delivered to Chengdu Airlines in April or May of 2015.

So far, the regional jet has won 308 firm orders from a total of 18 customers.

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