Comac formally signed two contracts in Singapore for C919 and ARJ21 airliners, which between them account for the launch orders for new derivatives. The larger of the two deals covers 40 short-body C919s and 10 ARJ21s for Tibet Airlines.
The carrier is headquartered at Lhasa Gonggar Airport in Tibet and operates a hub at Chengdu-Shuangliu. The current fleet consists of Airbus A320 family members and a few A330s for long-haul flights. It has been cooperating with Comac on developing airliners tailored to high-altitude operations, resulting in the “Plateau” variants of both the ARJ21 and C919.
The latter is a shortened-fuselage version that will typically accommodate 140 passengers in a two-class cabin, with a maximum capacity of 160. Comac formally unveiled the version in November at the Shanghai Airshow, along with a stretched version that can seat up to 210 passengers. The standard-length C919—seen flying at Singapore—accommodates 158 to 174 passengers depending on configuration.
Meanwhile, the ARJ21-700 regional jet can operate from runways with elevations of up to 14,500 feet, which covers the majority of China’s airports. Able to seat 78 in a two-class layout or up to 97 in a single-class high-density arrangement, the airplane's design allows it to handle crosswinds of up to 36 knots, a critical capability for operations from single-runway fields in mountainous areas. Comac markets both of the Plateau airliners to nations with high-elevation airfields such as Nepal and Mexico.
Comac’s second order came from the Henan Civil Aviation Development and Investment Group, which is acquiring six ARJ21s. The manufacturer will deliver them in three special mission configurations, consisting of a firefighter; medical services/evacuation aircraft; and an emergency management platform. The latter can provide a range of emergency support capabilities, including establishing temporary communications networks. Other ARJ21 derivatives include a business jet and freighter variants.