27 Jan 2020

China Aviation Industry Newsletter 27 January

CALC Orders 40 New Airbus A321neo Aircraft China Aircraft Leasing Group Holdings Limited (CALC), has placed a large order with Airbus for 40 additional A321neo aircraft. CALC has previously placed an order for 11 Airbus A321neos and, as part of this new deal, has converted 15 of its A320neo backlog to A321neo aircraft. This order brings CALC’s total A321neo order book to 66 of the type and, to date, CALC has only had one A321neo delivered so far. The only one delivered is operating for Hawaiian Airlines, registered as N209HA. CALC Welcomes its First Boeing 787 Dreamliner Passenger Jets CALC has successfully received its first batch of two Boeing 787 Dreamliner passenger jets directly purchased from the Boeing. The arrival of  the Boeing 787 Dreamliner passenger jets marks a milestone in CALC’s history, as it is the Group’s first wide body aircraft in its order book. These two aircraft were successfully delivered to an airline in Asia in December 2019 and January 2020. Mike Poon, Executive Director and CEO of CALC Group, said, “A strong order book is the driving force behind CALC’s sustainable business growth. CALC maintains strong relationship with OEMs by placing continuous and consistent order. Our first direct purchase of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner not only proves CALC’s notable capability in optimizing our diversified fleet portfolio, but also further bolsters CALC’s asset management capability in handling the full life cycle of wide-body aircraft, sharpening CALC’s full value chain solutions and fleet upgrade capability.” China-Developed ARJ21 Regional Jetliners Link 38 Cities China's domestically-developed ARJ21 regional aircraft is undergoing its commercial operation phase by linking 38 cities. The ARJ21 passenger jetliners have carried a total of 690,000 passengers on 37 air routes, said the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC). COMAC has delivered a total of 22 ARJ21 airplanes. China's MA60 Regional Airplane Family to Embrace 3rd Member in 2020 China's domestically developed MA60 "Modern Ark" regional turboprop airplane family will see its third member MA700 in 2020. The MA700 project has entered the final assembly phase. And the assembly works of aircraft for both the maiden flight and the static tests are underway, said the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). The first MA700 aircraft is scheduled to roll off the production line in mid-2020, and the maiden flight is expected to take place within the year. China's MA60 "Modern Ark" regional airplane family is developed by AVIC XAC Commercial Aircraft Co., Ltd. in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. FACC receives CAAC Part-145 maintenance organization approval FACC has been granted Part 145 approval by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). The company will offer maintenance, repair and modification services to Chinese operators. “This certification issued by the Chinese aviation authority marks a great success for FACC and is the result of hard work and the combined effort of all parties involved,” said Robert Machtlinger, CEO of FACC. “The strong growth in air traffic is also increasing the demand for qualified maintenance facilities in China. With this CAAC approval, FACC has established an excellent position for itself, and the good ratings in the approval process underline our high level of quality, expertise and reliability. We therefore possess the ideal prerequisites for successfully positioning ourselves as a maintenance company in this emerging market.” FACC is now authorised to perform maintenance work on components and systems operating under Chinese registration. Acumen Aviation © 27 January 2020 All Rights Reserved.