Chinese Planes Bound For Us Market Options

[Daredevil]

First China sold satellites to Venezuela and Nigeria. Now they are selling airplanes, not mentioning most electronics consumer products are also now made in China. They are moving up the production chain like Japan and South Korea did.


http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-10...ent_7160444.htm



Chinese planes bound for US market

By Xin Dingding (China Daily) Updated: 2008-10-31 07:20

China will sell 25 jets to a US company in a "breakthrough" deal that marks the country's entry into the big-plane market dominated by European and US players.

The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (CACC), which developed the ARJ21-700 regional aircraft independently, will sign a 5-billion-yuan ($735 million) contract on Tuesday, the Guangzhou Daily said Thursday.

The deal, to be inked on the opening day of the 7th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, proves China's homemade aircraft have won international recognition, experts said Thursday.

The ARJ21, an acronym for Advanced Regional Jet for the 21st Century, is China's first homemade regional jet.

Asian buyers have showed interest in ARJ21 jets, with Lao Airlines having signed a letter of intent to buy two, CACC said in May.

But "it is very difficult to enter North America and Europe," Chen Fusheng said over the phone. Chen is in charge of marketing another homemade turboprop aircraft, MA600.

"Their (US and Europe's) markets are mature, and aircraft makers have to pass time-consuming and high-standard tests before selling their planes," he said.

The deal shows global buyers have confidence in ARJ21, Chen Jin, a CACC marketing manager, was quoted by Guangzhou Daily as having said.

The ARJ21 can carry 70 to 110 passengers, and rolled out of a Shanghai factory in December last year. It has yet to take its maiden commercial flight and get a certificate from the US-based Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Under the circumstances, signing of the contract shows the buyers are confident of Chinese planes' performance, Chen Fusheng said.

The ARJ21-700 has a maximum range of 2,000 nautical miles, and is scheduled to take its first commercial flight by the end of November, Xinhua said.

[Daredevil]

China to unveil major order for its jets-executive
Fri Oct 31, 2008 5:12am EDT
http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNews...20081031?rpc=11
SHANGHAI, Oct 31 (Reuters) - China will announce a major foreign order for its self-developed regional jet ARJ21 next week valued at roughly 5 billion yuan ($731 million), an industry executive said on Friday.

The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (CACC), which developed ARJ21, will sign the deal with a U.S. firm during the Zhuhai airshow in south China, the executive close to the Chinese firm told Reuters.

The executive, who asked not to be identified, did not disclose the size of the order. But China Daily, an official English-language daily paper, cited another domestic paper as saying the order would total 25 jets.

In March, GE Commercial Aviation Services, General Electric's (GE.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) aircraft leasing arm, signed a preliminary agreement to buy 5 ARJ21 jets with an option to buy 20 more.

The Chinese industry executive declined to say if GE Commercial was the buyer of the 25 ARJ21 jets.

CACC was incorporated earlier this year after the merger of China's two state aircraft makers AVIC I and AVIC II.

Orders for the ARJ21 jet, unveiled last December and due for commercial deliveries from the third quarter of 2009, have already exceeded 100, mostly from domestic carriers.

General Electric and Parker Hannifin Corp (PH.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) are among companies which supply parts for the ARJ21 jet. ($1=6.838 Yuan) (Reporting by Fang Yan, Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

[harrypotter]

This is good news for the big jet project

China must walk slowly and take everything cautiously.

[must7]

Does this mean that the FAA has given the approval for ARJ21-700 ! If yes than .. I am sure they are in for some major purchases by other African countries too ..

[platinum786]

This is great news for Chinese aviation industry. If they are able to compete on the world market, they will be able to attract world class talent and technology to improve their planes even further. They'll also give the cotton wrapped European and US companies a run for their money. Surely the ideal is to great engines as good as Rolls Royce.

[harrypotter]

China to sell 25 regional jets to US market

2008-11-04

ZHUHAI, Guangdong, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- China signed its biggest aircraft export deal, in terms of the number of jets and contract value, on Tuesday at the 7th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition here.

The Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (COMAC) will sell 25 ARJ21-700 regional jets to GE Commercial Aviation Services of the United States.

Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang, who announced the opening of the six-day air show, attended the signing ceremony.

The deal is valued at 5 billion yuan (733 million U.S. dollars). The first jet will be delivered in 2013, with one per month thereafter.

COMAC Chairman Zhang Qingwei told Xinhua this was the first time Chinese-developed and manufactured regional jets have entered Western airline markets.

"This is an important opportunity. We are exploring China's own way of building jumbo planes," said Zhang.

Roger N. Seager, vice president of the GE Commercial Aviation Services, said his company was confident in the ARJ21 aircraft, China's aviation market and the Chinese economy at large.

"In the global economic downturn, financing is a main difficulty of all companies. Our investment in the ARJ21 shows our confidence in the manufacturer and the Chinese market," Seager told Xinhua.

Seager said more clients have shown an interest in the ARJ21. "Some customers of GE Aviation have already expressed interest. I can't tell you the names but there are Chinese customers, and European and American customers as well."

Embraer of Brazil, a major regional jet plane manufacturer on the international market, hailed the success of its Chinese competitor. A company official said the ARJ21 deal showed the broad prospects of Chinese regional jets.

The ARJ21 (Advanced Regional Jet for the 21st Century) was developed independently by China. It has 78 to 90 seats and a standard full-passenger flight can go 2,225 kilometers. A total of206 ARJ21-700s have been ordered so far.

The regional jet will make its maiden flight in Shanghai this month.

However, regional jets are not the only thing on the agenda for COMAC, which is working to build China's own jumbo planes.

"We have more than 300 engineers and experts working in Shanghai on jumbo designs. The fundamental parameters and blueprint have been finalized," said Zhang Qingwei.

The production of the ARJ21 aircraft has provided experience for the company's research and production staff, which would be helpful for the jumbo plane project. The company also learned morea bout their foreign counterparts during the process of developing the ARJ21, he added.

Jumbo passenger planes refer to those with a take-off weight of more than 100 tons, or with more than 150 seats.

Currently, only the United States, Russia, France, Germany, Britain and Spain have the capability to build jumbo aircraft, with Boeing and Airbus taking the lion's share of sales on international markets.

China would not rule out the possibility of cooperating with Boeing and Airbus on its jumbo plane project, according to Zhang.

The production of jumbo aircraft is strategically significant for the country, as it would lift the country's competence on the global markets as a slew of technical breakthroughs, especially in engines, materials and electronic equipment, were to be made, according to observers.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-11/...nt_10306666.htm

[btruant2002]

China to sell 25 regional jets to US market

2008-11-04

ZHUHAI, Guangdong, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- China signed its biggest aircraft export deal, in terms of the number of jets and contract value, on Tuesday at the 7th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition here.

The Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (COMAC) will sell 25 ARJ21-700 regional jets to GE Commercial Aviation Services of the United States.

Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang, who announced the opening of the six-day air show, attended the signing ceremony.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-11/...nt_10306666.htm

heartening news. think this will make the West sit up and take notice of the growing asian prowess.

[harrypotter]

Chinese jumbos cleared for takeoff

2008-11-04

Zhuhai -- China has set a timetable for its large aircraft plan, and the first homemade jumbo jet will take to the skies by no later than the start of the 13th Five-Year Plan Period (2015-20), a senior official said on Monday.

This is the first time a timetable for the trunk liner project has been made public, since the Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd was set up in May. The company is in charge of the large plane's assembly, marketing and after-sales service with an initial investment of 19 billion yuan ($2.8 billion).

Miao Wei, vice-minister of industry and information technology, said at the China International Aviation & Aerospace Forum 2008 yesterday that China-made jumbo jets will be on the market between 2015 and 2020.

"We will finish the concept design and research on key technologies before 2010, and have the first plane roll off the production line before 2014," he said.

Even though the domestic passenger transport volume has been dropping recently amid the global economic slowdown, Miao said he had confidence in China's vast demand for new planes.

"In the next 10 years, China will need at least 1,000 new planes," he said.

The corporation is currently studying a feasibility plan for the large plane, Jin Zhuanglong, its general manager said on Monday.

Some sub-projects have begun, and the large airplane's technology scheme and suppliers will be decided soon, he said.

The corporation, which is also responsible for marketing the homemade regional jet ARJ21, will sign its first overseas order, worth about $750 million, with General Electric Co, at the seventh China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition, which opens today.

GE's leasing unit will sign a contract for 25 ARJ21-700s, which raises the company's backlog to 208, Chen Jin, general manager for marketing and sales, said.

Miao said the ARJ21-700 will enter service next year, while work on a 100-seat version, a business-jet model and a freighter will start next year.

China has also received 136 orders for the MA 60, a propeller-driven commuter plane, Miao said.

Xi'an Aircraft Industry Group Co, the maker of the plane, has already delivered 34, he said.

"The next few years will be an important period for China's aviation industry," he said.

The ministry will draft a mid-and-long-term plan for the aviation industry soon in order to coordinate the development of large planes, regional jets and helicopters, he said.

Lunar ambitions

Models of a soft-lander and a rover for the second phase of China's lunar exploration program will be displayed at the air show for the first time.

Designed and made by China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CAST), the soft-lander, weighing 3,800 kg on top of the launch vehicle, is likely to be launched in 2013, a corporation source said on Monday.

The government has given the nod to the second phase of the lunar program to explore the surface of the moon, the corporation said.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-11...ent_7170571.htm

[harrypotter]

Pact agreed to build aircraft engines

2008-11-06

The Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) and the Shanghai municipal government have agreed to work together to develop engines for China's large commercial aircraft, it was announced on Wednesday.

Speaking at the ongoing Zhuhai air show, Tan Ruisong, executive vice-president of the AVIC, said the two sides had signed an agreement for the establishment of a strategic cooperation framework.

The firm will be set up in six months with an initial registered capital of 6 billion yuan ($880 million), he said.

While the exact stock holdings in the company have yet to be decided, AVIC wants to hold a majority share, he said.

Insiders said the joint venture is important to China's large passenger aircraft program, as at present, domestic engines are not competitive enough for use in the 130- to 200-seat commercial aircraft the country wants to put on market during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2015-20).

The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), which is in charge of the large passenger aircraft program, said it will seek suppliers through global bidding, which is an international practice already used by industry giants Boeing and Airbus.

But, "developing our own commercial engine has always been an important strategic move," Tan said.

The framework should allow for the development of homegrown commercial engines within 15 years, he said.

The new joint venture firm will be located in Shanghai, where COMAC has its headquarters, AVIC President Lin Zuoming said at Wednesday's signing ceremony.

It has been agreed the engine design center will be located in the Zizhu area of Shanghai's Minhang district, while the engine assembly base will be within the Shanghai Lingang development zone, he said.

The two bases, and other functions associated with the company are likely to attract support industries, such as avionics and materials, to the area, he said.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2008...ent_7178930.htm

[aziqbal]

But what is the status of the ARJ21 jet has it even flown yet?

[harrypotter]

But what is the status of the ARJ21 jet has it even flown yet?

Maiden flight will be in the end of this month, before the end of this year. Strenuous testing by engineers are still under way, they don't want anything happen to the maiden flight.

[aziqbal]

Maiden flight will be in the end of this month, before the end of this year. Strenuous testing by engineers are still under way, they don't want anything happen to the maiden flight.

thanks harry knowing china they are probably doing the best for the project, if its late there must be a good reason i can see the sucessful test flight coming soon hopefully

[Daredevil]

But what is the status of the ARJ21 jet has it even flown yet?

Airbus had about 130 A380 on order even before it first flight. The Boeing dreamliner 787 has over 600 order and it hasn't even flown yet. This is common practice.