航空产业网 2021-03-10
As the world's first launch customer of theChina-made airliner C919, China Eastern Airlines officially signed a purchasecontract of C919 aircraft with Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd.(COMAC) in Shanghai on March 1st, 2021. Five C919 aircraft would be introducedin the first batch, and China Eastern Airlines would become the world's firstairline to operate C919 aircraft. This is an important step for China EasternAirlines in the introduction and commercial operation of the China-made airlineras a pioneer after the successful establishment of One Two Three Airlines (OTTAirlines) to operate China-made ARJ21 aircraft and in the first year toimplement the 14th Five-Year Plan.
Mr. Wu Qing, Member of the StandingCommittee of CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee and Vice Mayor of Shanghai, Mr.Liu Shaoyong, Chairman and Secretary of the Party Leadership Group of ChinaEastern Airlines, and Mr. He Dongfeng, Secretary of the Party Committee andChairman of COMAC, made speeches. Mr. Li Yangmin, Deputy Secretary of the PartyLeadership Group and President of China Eastern Airlines, and Mr. Zhao Yuerang,Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and President of COMAC, placed theirsignatures on the contract.
As one of the largest state-owned backboneairlines, China Eastern Airlines has rich experience and outstandingcomprehensive advantages in the commercial operation of large fleet andmultiple models of aircraft. By the end of 2020, China Eastern Airlines has afleet of more than 750 aircraft, which is one of the youngest aircraft fleetsin global large-scale aviation enterprises. China Eastern Airlines has builtdual core hubs in two cities and four airports with Shanghai and Beijing as themain bases, owns a global route network covering 1036 destinations in 170countries, and carries more than 130 million passengers annually, ranking amongthe top 10 in the world.
C919 aircraft is a large jet aircraftindependently developed by China and owns independent intellectual propertyright. The aircraft has completed its maiden flight at Shanghai PudongInternational Airport on May 5th, 2017. Since the beginning of the developmentof C919 aircraft, China Eastern Airlines has been striving to become afacilitator of the improvement and optimization of China-made civil aircraft,an explorer of commercial operation mode and a pioneer of market operation.China Eastern Airlines has signed a launch customer agreement and a Letter ofIntent for purchasing C919 aircraft with COMAC in 2010; signed a FrameworkCooperation Agreement with COMAC in November 2016 during the 11th ChinaInternational Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition, becoming the world's firstuser of C919 aircraft; signed an ARJ21-700 Aircraft Sales Agreement with COMACin Beijing in August 2019; taken the lead among large state-owned backbone airtransport enterprises to set up the first airline specialized in the operationof China-made civil aircraft, i.e., OTT Airlines, in February 2020 during themost severe period of the epidemic of COVID-19, and officially put theChina-made ARJ21 aircraft into operation.
China Eastern Airlines has been deeplyinvolved in the design and development of C919 aircraft, trained and providedthe first C919 flight crew to fly a jet as a companion during the maiden flightof C919 aircraft, and provided suggestions from the perspectives of customeruse and maintenance. Relying on the industrial chain partnership and thegeographical advantage of being both in Shanghai, China Eastern Airlines andCOMAC have constantly promoted cooperation and innovation on the industrialchain, and jointly explored new practices in the commercial operation of C919aircraft.
After the signing of the purchase contract,both sides would conduct docking as soon as possible and carry out all thepreparatory work before the aircraft is put into operation, includingsupplementary operation certification of the new model of aircraft, training ofprofessional personnel, signing of customer support and guarantee agreements,etc. Both sides would enhance cooperation in the areas such as aircraft importand export, material maintenance, logistics and warehousing, new technologyapplication, material support, maintenance support and aircraft configurationoptimization to ensure the high-quality operation of the first batch ofaircraft.
According to the preliminary plan of ChinaEastern Airlines, the five C919 aircraft would be based in Shanghai and flyfrom Shanghai to Daxing District of Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu,Xiamen, Wuhan and Qingdao to improve the market share of China Eastern Airlinesin these markets and bring a "brand new experience" to the passengersof the China-made aircraft.