Chinese defence giant buys China Express Airlines stake

China Express Airlines' parent pledges more stock for loan

Indonesia's TransNusa takes delivery of ARJ21-700

TransNusa (8B, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta) has taken delivery of its first ARJ21-700, PK-TJA ( msn 186), which was officially handed over on Sunday, December 18. The occasion also marks the first delivery of the aircraft type to a customer outside China. The Indonesian low-cost carrier was meant to take the plane late last year, the first of 30 it has due from COMAC, but owing to the pandemic and the suspension of TransNusa flights, the delivery was deferred.

COMAC has delivered twenty-seven ARJ21s this year and a total of 93 since production began - all to Chinese carriers such as Chengdu Airlines, Air China, China Southern Airlines, China Express Airlines, Jiangxi Airlines, and OTT Airlines. TransNusa's interest in the ARJ21 may be partly explained by its ownership structure. China Aircraft Leasing Group Holdings (CALC) holds a 49% equity interest in PT TransNusa Aviation Mandiri (TransNusa's formal name). CALC is a subsidiary of the state-owned China Everbright Group which has a long-term customer relationship with state-owned COMAC....

New wave of lockdowns across China; Chengdu heavily affected

Flight cancelation rates are spiking across China as authorities again crackdown on travel and lockdown cities amid fresh waves of Covid-19 infections. Doubling down on its Covid-zero strategy and ahead of a critical Chinese Communist Party congress meeting in October, 33 cities in China are under so-called static lockdowns which are disrupting the day-to-day operations of key infrastructure such as airports and the airlines that serve them.

According to ADS-B data tracking services, at Chengdu Tianfu there are 116 aircraft grounded with Chengdu Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, Air China, Hainan Airlines, Sichuan Airlines, Lucky Air (China), Shenzhen Airlines, China Express Airlines, Loong Air, and Qingdao Airlines affected while at Chengdu Shuangliu there are 148 on the ground with Air China, Sichuan Airlines, China Eastern, China Southern Airlines, Tibet Airlines, Chengdu Airlines, and LJ Air impacted. At Guiyang, in Guizhou province, there are 35 aircraft on the ground from Air China, China Southern, Shandong Airlines, Colorful Guizhou Airlines, 9 Air, Tianjin...

China's Air Guilin opens Yulin base