news

한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina

on the evening of august 28, air china (601111) and china southern airlines (600029) simultaneously received their first c919 aircraft at the pudong base of the commercial aircraft corporation of china (comac) final assembly and manufacturing center, marking the beginning of a new stage of multi-user operations for the c919 aircraft.

after the delivery ceremony, there was a long queue of visitors queuing up to visit the c919.

the c919 large passenger aircraft is my country's first mainline jet airliner independently developed in accordance with international airworthiness standards and with independent intellectual property rights.

in april this year, air china and china southern airlines signed procurement agreements with comac respectively. the two major airlines will purchase 100 c919 aircraft each. the aircraft are scheduled to be delivered in batches from 2024 to 2031.

two major airlines received their first c919

at the delivery ceremony on the evening of august 28, as the hangar door slowly opened, the first c919 of air china painted with the five-star red flag and the first c919 of china southern airlines painted with red kapok flowers appeared on the same stage.

comac issued the "aircraft sales certificate" to air china and china southern airlines and handed over the aircraft delivery commemorative keys. the civil aviation administration of china issued the "nationality registration certificate", "single aircraft airworthiness certificate" and "radio station license" to air china and china southern airlines.

it is understood that the first c919 of air china is an extended-range model, with a two-cabin layout of 158 seats, including 8 business class seats and 150 economy class seats. the first c919 of china southern airlines is a standard-range model, with a three-cabin layout of 164 seats, including 8 business class seats, 18 premium economy class seats and 138 economy class seats.

both aircraft are equipped with customized cabin seats and other facilities and equipment, and personal charging ports are installed throughout the cabin.

(two c919 aircraft delivered on the evening of the 28th)

to ensure the smooth introduction and subsequent operation of the c919 aircraft, air china, china southern airlines and comac have worked closely together to fully promote various tasks including aircraft selection, production supervision, personnel training, and operational preparation.

in the past three months, the first batch of c919 pilots of air china completed theoretical study, simulator training, and on-site training, and obtained c919 pilot licenses. the 126 flight attendants and 84 aviation safety officers, 548 flight dispatchers, hundreds of maintenance personnel, and nearly 1,200 ground service personnel of air china's first aircraft operation reserve have completed relevant training for the new aircraft.

china southern airlines has previously deployed flight, maintenance, and operation control personnel to establish a domestic aircraft operation support system, and to complete various tasks such as crew modification, personnel training, operation specifications, and route planning. the preliminary work has successfully completed the modification training of flight crews, the training of cabin crews for aircraft type conversion, and various trainings such as dispatchers and loaders.

hu zhenjiang, deputy director and party group member of the civil aviation administration of china, said in his speech at the delivery site on the evening of august 28 that from the first delivery to the simultaneous operation of the three major airlines, the commercial operation of c919 has been highly anticipated. "today we have witnessed the operation of two more aircraft. c919 is moving towards large-scale, multi-user commercial operation, and is becoming more and more solid and stable."

on december 9, 2022, china eastern airlines received the world's first domestically produced c919 aircraft. according to reports, as of last week, 7 c919 aircraft had been put into operation, carrying more than 470,000 passengers in total, with utilization rates and other indicators steadily improving, and comprehensive operational capabilities being fully tested.

air china and china southern airlines will each purchase 100 aircraft this year

on april 26 this year, air china announced that it had signed an agreement with commercial aircraft corporation of china, ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "comac") on april 26, 2024 to purchase 100 c919 aircraft (extended-range) from comac. these 100 aircraft are scheduled to be delivered to air china in batches from 2024 to 2031.

the basic price of each aircraft purchased by air china includes the price of the fuselage, additional parts and engines. the announcement mentioned that according to the latest catalog price provided by comac, the basic price of 100 c919 aircraft totaled approximately us$10.8 billion.after fair negotiations between the buyer and the seller, comac granted the company a significant price discount for purchasing the aircraft, so the actual transaction price was lower than the aforementioned basic price of the aircraft.

air china said that the transaction is in line with the company's development plan and market demand, and is conducive to the group's optimization of its fleet structure and long-term capacity replenishment. the transaction will expand the group's fleet carrying capacity. without considering possible adjustments such as aircraft withdrawals based on market conditions and aircraft age, the transaction will increase the group's capacity by approximately 7.5% based on the group's available ton-kilometers as of december 31, 2023.

the announcement stated that the new aircraft will be delivered in batches from 2024 to 2031, partly to meet the renewal needs of old aircraft in the fleet, and the actual net increase in capacity will be maintained within a controllable range.

china southern airlines also announced on april 29 this year that it had signed an agreement with comac to purchase 100 c919 aircraft from comac. the aircraft are scheduled to be delivered to the company in batches from 2024 to 2031.

china southern airlines mentioned that the open market price of the c919 aircraft (basic model) is us$99 million per aircraft. the basic price of 100 c919 aircraft is us$9.9 billion (about rmb 70.2405 billion at 1 us dollar to rmb 7.0950).

china southern airlines stated that although the c919 aircraft purchased this time was a brand-new model, in terms of the performance parameters of the c919 aircraft itself, the actual transaction price after comac gave the company a price discount was similar to the preferential prices the company had received from other aircraft manufacturers in the past.

china southern airlines also stated that the company's board of directors believes that this aircraft transaction is in line with the national strategy and effectively meets the company's medium- and long-term fleet development needs. under the overall layout of the national civil aviation development strategy, the domestic narrow-body aircraft market demand is on the rise. the company's introduction of 100 c919 aircraft between 2024 and 2031 can ease the company's capacity demand pressure and achieve a balanced fleet structure.

editor: chen lixiang

proofreading: gao yuan