Today, China Eastern Airlines once again signed an aircraft purchase agreement with COMAC in Shanghai. China Eastern Airlines will order an additional 100 C919 large passenger aircraft on the basis of the first batch of five aircraft signed in 2021. This is also the largest single order received so far for the C919 large passenger aircraft. China Eastern Airlines has become the world's largest user of the C919 large passenger aircraft. "After the new batch of C919s are introduced, they will be mainly launched in China Eastern Airlines' main base market and important business and tourism trunk markets." said the relevant person in charge of China Eastern Airlines.
(Photo provided by China Eastern Airlines)
China Eastern Airlines said that the C919s purchased this time will be delivered in batches from 2024 to 2031. Among them, 5 aircraft are planned to be delivered in 2024, 10 aircraft are planned to be delivered each year from 2025 to 2027, 15 aircraft are planned to be delivered each year from 2028 to 2030, and 20 aircraft are planned to be delivered in 2031. China Eastern Airlines may adjust the specific introduction time and aircraft types of the aircraft under this aircraft transaction in the future based on market conditions and the company's capacity planning.
According to a reporter from the China Federation of Finance and Economics, the world's first C919 of China Eastern Airlines launched its first commercial flight on May 28 this year, and the second C919 was also received on July 16 this year. The second C919 is currently "partnered" with the first aircraft and put into China Eastern Airlines' "Shanghai Hongqiao-Chengdu Tianfu" air express. The third C919 will be delivered in October this year.
China Eastern Airlines data shows that as of September 26, 2023, China Eastern Airlines' two C919 aircraft have accumulated a total of 1,140.15 hours of safe flight, including 867.19 hours of commercial operation. They have carried out a total of 296 commercial flights, with an average passenger load factor of over 73%, and carried more than 35,000 passengers.
"China Eastern Airlines is one of the top ten airlines in the world, with a current fleet size of more than 800 aircraft. According to the fleet renewal plan, more than 200 narrow-body passenger aircraft are expected to withdraw from the fleet from 2024 to 2031. It is necessary to carry out capacity reserves in advance to better cope with future market demand and industry competition, and the main The introduction of narrow-body passenger aircraft is one of the important means. "The relevant person in charge of China Eastern Airlines said that considering the potential of China's civil aviation market, China Eastern Airlines' own fleet renewal needs, and the early commercial operation performance of C919, purchasing C919 and expanding the scale of C919 fleet have become the better choices.