Latest News

China's COMAC ARJ21 regional jet painted with C909 branding, images reveal

Chinese planemaker COMAC has actually painted among its ARJ21 local jets with C909 branding, lining up with the maker's calling conventions for its other models, according to pictures posted on aviation enthusiast online forums and Chinese social media.

Although mainly symbolic, a possible rebranding ahead of China's primary air program in Zhuhai next month signals Beijing's. growing objective to emerge as a full-scale option. to Western aircraft giants Jet and Boeing.

An ARJ21 aircraft was photographed with C909 painted on its. blue tail at Shanghai Pudong airport on Sunday by 2 users of. plane-spotting website jetphotos.com and one user of. planespotters.net, and other pictures of it appeared on Chinese. social media site Weibo on Monday.

Reuters has actually been not able to separately verify the photos. COMAC did not immediately react to an ask for remark.

The ARJ21 got in service in 2016 and is operated by numerous. Chinese airline companies and Indonesian carrier TransNusa. However market. analysts state the local aircraft, China's first jet to reach. commercial production, remains uncompetitive worldwide.

COMAC's subsequent plane, the single-aisle C919, entered. service in 2023 and the planemaker has stated it is developing a. twin-aisle aircraft called the C929. The business has actually also hinted at. an even bigger C939 in the future.

The C929 was renamed in 2023 from the CR929 after Russia. left a China-Russia joint venture establishing it.

The photographed aircraft, painted with registration number. B-099A and manufacturing serial number 10156, belongs to COMAC. and is signed up as an ARJ21 test flight airplane, according to. Flightradar24 tracking data.

On Monday it conducted what seemed a test flight. from Shanghai Pudong airport, Flightradar24 shows.

The International Civil Aviation Organization's airplane. type designator database still records COMAC's regional jet as. the ARJ21. ICAO did not right away react to an ask for. comment.

The practice of renaming models to develop a single brand is. typical in aviation. Jet in 2018 renamed Bombardier's CSeries. the A220 after buying the program.

COMAC this year has increased sales and production strategies and. has actually been marketing its planes outside China. However industry. sources warn COMAC is a long way from making inroads. globally, particularly without benchmark accreditations. from the EU - which COMAC is pursuing for the C919 - or the U.S.

(source: Reuters)