COMAC restart takes off with ARJ21 delivery to Chengdu Airlines

Work resumption is in full swing at the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), with the company delivering an ARJ21 aircraft, the first since the COVID-19 epidemic, to Chengdu Airlines on Thursday.

The ARJ21, sporting the B-604F number, took off from Shanghai Pudong International Airport on Thursday afternoon and arrived at Yinchuan Hedong International Airport in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region three hours later and was subsequently handed over to Chengdu Airlines, according to the Shanghai-based aircraft manufacturer.

With this, COMAC has delivered 24 ARJ21 jets to clients since 2015, with 19 going to Chengdu Airlines.

During the fight against the COVID-19 epidemic, Chengdu Airlines' ARJ21 fleet carried out frequent chartered flights to ferry medical personnel to and from the hard-hit Wuhan of Hubei province and also provided great support to enterprises looking to restore businesses, according to COMAC.

The ARJ21 literally means Advanced Regional Jet for the 21st century, and is an aircraft for regional flights developed and manufactured by China in accordance with international standards.

"In contrast with mainstream commercial aircraft that are designed for long-distance flights between destinations with strong travel demand, the regional aircraft is more suitable for less popular destinations with high demand for flights," said Chen Zhuo, a senior analyst with China Merchants Securities.

The COVID-19 epidemic has caused great damage to the aviation industry in China, with passenger numbers falling by 70 percent and the passenger load factor slumping to below 60 percent, according to Lin Zhijie, an aviation industry analyst and columnist at carnoc.com, a leading civil aviation website.

"Unlike carrying between 60 and 80 passengers on a 150-seat B737 or an A320 aircraft, it might be a better choice to fly with a regional aircraft for saving costs and efficiency," said Lin.

Chinese aviation data and solution provider AirSavvi said that although the ARJ21 accounted for just 1 percent of the global regional flights between April 1 and April 20, the aircraft maintained stable flights vis-a-vis other comparable aircraft, which experienced a slump of 60 percent to 80 percent.

The uncertain outlook for the epidemic is expected to weigh on the aviation industry, and further impact aircraft manufacturing through contracted demand for aircraft, thereby posing huge challenges to global aviation supply chains, according to experts.

"Output of Boeing and Airbus has been cut by more than 40 percent as aviation companies are postponing their orders. We have projected the market demand for air travel to remain depressed for at least a year," said Lin.

Based on previous experiences, it is likely that the aviation industry will rebound once the epidemic abates globally, said Chen.

"Global demand for air travel still remains strong and hence the recovery could happen faster than in other sectors," he said.