China Eastern ramps up Jilin, Hubei base, hub investments

China Eastern Airlines orders 100 C919s

China Eastern Airlines (MU, Shanghai Hongqiao) has ordered 100 C919 narrowbody jets directly from state-owned aircraft manufacturer COMAC (Shanghai Pudong), with deliveries expected to begin in 2024 and continue through 2031. The commitment is the largest single order ever for the type.

According to the Chinese carrier's stock market filing, the first five aircraft will be delivered in 2024, followed by ten per year between 2025 and 2027. In 2028, 2029, and 2030, the airline anticipates taking fifteen aircraft a year, with the final twenty units scheduled for 2031.

"During the delivery period, a large number of the company's existing narrowbody passenger aircraft will be gradually withdrawn from the fleet due to their age and lease expiration," the airline said.

The ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows that China Eastern Airlines currently operates two C919s as the type's launch - and still the only active - customer. It expects to take a further three units from its previous order by the end of 2023.

The airline's Western-built...

Air India Express set to take first B737 MAX

Air India Express (IX, Mumbai International) has scheduled the delivery flight of its first B737-8, from Seattle Boeing Field via Reykjavik Keflavik and Kuwait to Hyderabad International, for September 28-30, 2023, to be followed by a second on September 29-October 1, 2023, ch-aviation schedule analysis has revealed.

As previously reported, the LCC's first B737 MAX will be units originally earmarked for Chinese airlines. ch-aviation research shows the first aircraft, VT-BXA (msn 61639), was poised to deliver to Shanghai Airlines (FM, Shanghai Hongqiao) while the second, VT-BXD (msn 61658), was not taken up by China Eastern Airlines (MU, Shanghai Hongqiao). The aircraft will be delivered to India in Shanghai Airlines' and an all-white livery, respectively, and will be repainted in India.

The reassignment took place due to the ongoing pause of all B737 MAX deliveries to China, which is expected to end soon.

Air India (AI, Mumbai International) Chief Executive and Managing Director Campbell Wilson confirmed in an interview with the Times of...

Brunei's GallopAir signs LOI for 30 COMAC aircraft

Gallop Air has signed a Letter of Intent with COMAC (Shanghai Pudong) for thirty aircraft, including undisclosed numbers of ARJ21-700s (some in VIP configuration), ARJ21-700Fs, and C919s. The start-up would be the second non-Chinese ARJ21 operator, should the deal is finalised.

Incorporated in Singapore in October 2021 as a passenger airline with freight operations as its secondary area of business, GallopAir has thus far been dormant. However, it plans to operate out of Bandar Seri Begawan, complementing Royal Brunei Airlines (BI, Bandar Seri Begawan), but has not disclosed any further details of its business plan, network, or timeline. GallopAir is backed by China's Shaanxi Tianju Group, whose chairman, Yang Qiang, is also the airline's chairman.

Shaanxi Tianju's Tianju Airlines (Urumqi) ordered thirty ARJ21-700s in 2018, but none have ever been delivered, and the Chinese start-up has yet to launch. Tianju Group also has an LOI for ten ATR42-600s, which similarly has never been finalised. The group owns an active flight training...

Argentina's Flybondi gets forex board nod for B737 lease