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China's newest plane is taking off with airlines acrossthe globe

Earlier this week the Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd (COMAC) signed 130 orders for theC919 passenger jet.

The aircraft took it's first flight this year. COMAC is a key part of China's plans to become a pivotalpart in the international civil aerospace market.

The C919 passenger jet is the first of its kind designed and built in China. The plane is scheduled to makeits maiden flight on May 5. [Photo: Xinhua]

The deals take total orders for the C919 single-aisle aircraft to 730 planes from 27 customers.

China Nuclear E&C Group placed an order for 40 jets, while Huabao Leasing and AVIC InternationalLeasing each signed up for 30 of the aircraft, according to a statement from COMAC, Reutersreported.

A spokesman from COMAC said that they were in talks with both foreign and domestic airlines tolease out the planes, with a focus on carriers in regions such as Central Asia and Africa that wereinvolved in Beijing’s Belt and Road initiative.

The C919 is in the process of certification in Europe and the United States which will then be a keyto opening up international markets.

But there has already been interest from budget Irish airline Ryanair. The embattled airline hasalready signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the COMAC to “participate in discussion onthe development” of the C919.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary has previously said that he welcomed an alternative toBoeing and Airbus, adding he was “seriously interested in the development of a 200 seat variant”.

Ryanair has been in the press recently over their announcement that they were cutting up to 50flights a day following "a backlog of crew leave".

It "apologised sincerely to the small number of customers affected" and promised to try andrearrange flights.

A statement claimed the move was to realign staff's annual holiday window and improve punctuality.

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EJ Ward Sino.uk Published: 2017-09-20 13:27:53

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