China Eastern signs deal to buy first batch of 5 C919s
CHINA Eastern Airlines has purchased the first batch of five C919s, China’s first domestically developed narrow-body passenger aircraft, to become the jet’s first operator.
The Shanghai-based carrier yesterday signed a contract with Commercial Aircraft Corp of China, developer of the C919, near Hongqiao International Airport, the future operation base of the jetliners.
China Eastern and its subsidiary airlines plan to deploy the C919s on its most popular domestic routes from Shanghai to Beijing’s Daxing airport, Guangzhou and Shenzhen in south Guangdong Province, Chengdu in southwest Sichuan, Xiamen in southeast Fujian, Wuhan in central Hubei and Qingdao in east Shandong.
“The contract signing marks an important milestone for the C919 to enter the commercial operation stage,” said He Dongfeng, president of COMAC.
He said the purchase also showed the determination of China’s aircraft manufacturing and transport sectors amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The C919, with 168 seats and a range of 5,555 kilometers, aims to compete for orders with Airbus and Boeing. COMAC has secured 815 orders of intent from global carriers and clients for the C919.
The first C919 made its maiden flight from Shanghai on May 5, 2017. Since then, six prototypes have rolled off the assembly line in Pudong and are under test in northwest Shaanxi Province as well as Shandong and Jiangxi provinces.
China Eastern will launch operation verification for the new aircraft type, train professional crews and other supportive protocols for COMAC after the contract signing, said Wang Yongqin, deputy director of the planning and development department of the local carrier.
It established OTT Airlines in
February 2020 mainly to operate China’s domestically developed passenger jets.
OTT’s maiden commercial flight took off from the Hongqiao airport on December 28 last year, operated by an ARJ21 regional jet, also developed by COMAC.
China Eastern signed a contract with COMAC in August 2019 to purchase 35 ARJ21-700 regional jets. It also signed a purchase intention for 20 C919s in 2010. It has been named as the world’s “launching operator” of the C919.
By the end of 2020, China Eastern was operating a fleet of over 750 planes with routes covering more than 1,000 destinations in 170 countries.
A TOWER in Xujiahui Center will be completed by the end of 2021 and become one of the largest commercial complexes in downtown Shanghai.
The 220-meter T1 building of the project will be completed next fall and feature commercial facilities, offices and luxury hotels, the district government announced yesterday.
The project includes the 370meter T2 tower on Hongqiao Road that will surpass the 320-meter building in Hongkou District’s Sinar Mas Plaza — also known as the White Magnolia Plaza complex — to become the tallest structure in Puxi.
When completed in 2023, the 70-story T2 tower will be the fifth tallest in the city after the 632-meter Shanghai Tower, 492-meter Shanghai World Financial Center, 468-meter Oriental Pearl TV Tower and 420.5-meter Jin Mao Tower in Pudong’s Lujiazui area.
The district government released its major construction plans for 2021 yesterday with 59 projects totaling 160 billion yuan (US$24.8 billion) in investment that will be completed or reach major milestones this year.
The downtown district, named after Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) official and scientist Xu Guangqi, intends to become a scientific hub with a vibrant cultural scene. Future development will primarily take place along the Huangpu River — better known as the West Bund — and the Caohejing Development Zone.
Another group of key projects centered around art and artificial intelligence is being launched on the West Bund. The waterfront is home to a cluster of museums and art galleries renovated from the city’s early factories.
A media harbor and AI valley will be completed by the yearend, according to officials.
Internet giants like Alibaba and Netease will have offices along the waterfront in addition to unicorn companies such as SenseTime and United Imaging.
Construction has begun on the West Bund Financial Hub,
which will become a financial center rivaling the Bund and Lujiazui. Structural construction on one block of the project will be completed this year with total investment of 1.5 billion yuan.
The 28 projects along the Huangpu River waterfront will have total floor space of around 1.8 million square meters, including office buildings, shopping malls, hotels, exhibition halls, communities and cultural and sports facilities.
In another key project in the Caohejing area, Beiyang AI Town, covering 543,000 square meters along the Dianpu River and the city’s Outer Ring Road, will become the city’s first AI town when completed around 2024. AI and big data technologies will be applied to the town’s urban information and public infrastructure as well as its public service facilities.
Other projects kicking off this year include an expansion of the Cherry Blossom Boulevard, the biggest fenceless park in the downtown area. The new phase of the boulevard near Middle Ring Road with cherry blossom trees flanking the greenbelt will cover 76,000 square meters and include gardens and jogging paths.