China ramps up domestic jet development as OTT Airlines makes maiden flight with home-grown ARJ21 jet

One Two Three Airlines (OTT Airlines), a subsidiary of China Eastern, launched in February to expand domestically-produced aircraft to more markets, completed its maiden commercial flight on Monday. The nearly two-hour flight from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport to Beijing Capital International Airport will be followed by the opening of new routes to Nanchang, Hefei and Wenzhou over the next three months, according to the airline. The Shanghai-based company used an ARJ21 jet for the flight, China’s first domestically made plane for the regional aviation market. The single-aisle model, made by the state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac), went into service in 2016, has a range of 4,000km and a flying altitude equal to other commercial aircraft, Chinese media reported. With 90 seats in 18 rows, the ARJ21 competes with the ERJ model made by Brazil’s Embraer and the A220 designed by Canada’s Bombardier, but marketed by Airbus. There have been several breakthroughs in China’s home-grown aircraft industry in recent years, which has developed alongside the rapid growth of the aviation market. The C919 – a larger, narrow-body aircraft made by Comac that China hopes will challenge the Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus 320neo families – started cold-weather test flights last week in the far northern city of Hulunbuir. The plane is also being tested in other parts of China, putting it on schedule for official deliveries at the end of next year, media in the mainland have reported. <br/>