Comac has come to Singapore with two aircraft types—the C919 and ARJ21—that are making their first airshow appearances outside China. Not only do three examples of the airliners grace the static park, they participate in the show's flying display.
The newest of the pair—the C919—flew for the first time in May 2017. The type—intended as a counterpart to the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737—entered commercial service with China Eastern last year, the first passenger service taking place on May 28 between Shanghai-Hongqiao and Beijing. On the following day, the airline initiated a Shanghai-Chengdu service. This first revenue-earning aircraft sits on static exhibition here in Singapore, while the fifth of six prototypes participates in the flying display.
China Eastern served as the launch customer for the C919. The airline received its fourth aircraft in January this year. By the end of 2023, Comac reported orders for about 1,000. The first overseas customer is Gallop Air, a Chinese-backed start-up in Brunei, which has 15 C919s (and 15 ARJ21s) on order and hopes to begin operations later this year.
The CFM International Leap-1C powers early production aircraft, but the Avic Commercial Aircraft Engine Company is developing the CJ-1000A as an indigenous alternative. Flight trials—on a Xian Y-20 military transport—reportedly began last March. Comac has said it would produce shortened and lengthened versions of the C919.
Comac’s other debutant, the ARJ21 regional jet, bears a passing resemblance to the McDonnell Douglas MD80/90 family once built under license in China. The General Electric CF34-engined aircraft first flew in November 2008, and Comac delivered the first to Chengdu Airlines in November 2015. The first commercial service, between Chengdu and Shanghai, began in June of the following year.
The company built the Initial aircraft in Shanghai and added a second assembly line at Pudong in 2020. Comac has announced firm orders for around 200, although the number might be higher. Deliveries had reached around 125 by the end of January 2024. In 2022 Indonesian carrier TransNusa became the first international customer, ordering 30. One of those aircraft is on static display in Singapore.
So far all deliveries have been of the baseline 70- to 95-passenger ARJ21-700, but COMAC has suggested development of a stretched 95- to 105-passenger ARJ21-900 and an ARJ21B business jet version. Another factory version on offer, the ARJ21F freighter, can accommodate seven LD3 containers.
Meanwhile, a handful of ARJ21-700s have undergone a passenger-to-freight (P2F) conversion, offering a 10,150-kg payload. The first ARJ21P2F conversion began at Gameco in Guangzhou in December 2022, and Comac converted two more ex-Chengdu Airlines aircraft. Deliveries to YTO Cargo Airlines and Air Central took place late last year. The latter aircraft is on show in the static display.