Page 17 - AAA JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2017 Online Magazine

FEATURE REGIONAL AIRCRAFT

the right stuff. It is a family of 158–174 seat development of the Yak-42.
narrow-body twin-engine jet aircraft and The baseline MC-21-300 seats 180
is the largest commercial airliner designed passengers and will be followed by the 153-
and built in China since the Shanghai Y-10. Its seat -200 with a long-range MC-21-200LR
first flight was expected to take place late in variant also offered. Largest model is the
2016, with first deliveries for late 2018.So far 212-seat -400 version which is still under
Comac has orders and other commitments development. So far, the company has
for over 500 aircraft. All major Chinese orders for 192 with options for 88 but has
airlines have signed up along with GECAS not secured any orders in the Asia region.
the aircraft to meet the latest requirements for 20, BOC Aviation (20) and Thailand’s City The turbo-prop field is dominated by
for certification,” an MHI release clarified. Airways (10). Bombardier’s Dash 8 and ATR’s -42 and -72
Presently three aircraft are undergoing flight From Russia two entries in the regional series. Both designs have robust customer
tests in the United States. Major customers market have found buyers in the Asian base and are used extensively in the Asia
in the Asian region for the MRJ90 are All region. The 108-seat Sukhoi Superjet 100 for and Oceania regions by airlines such as
Nippon Airways (ANA) with 15 and 10 options, flew in May 2008 and entered service in 2011. Qantaslink with 48, Air Nelson (23), All
Japan Airlines with 32 and Air Mandalay for 6 Designed to compete internationally with Nippon Network (5), Airlines PNG (7), Japan
with 4 options. the Embraer E-Jets and Bombardier CSeries, Air Commuter (9), PAL Express (9), Just in
The dark horse in the regional jet market the Superjet 100 claims lower operating December one customer Philippine Airlines
is of course China and to a lesser extent costs and a lower purchase price put at firmed up an order for 12 Q400s.Bombardier
Russia. Earlier this year the first passenger around US$35 million. However, it is yet to had been looking at a further stretch of the
jet built in China, the Comac ARJ-21, made find favour with airlines in Asia, although the Q400 to seat 90 passengers but instead
its inaugural commercial flight with Chengdu Royal Thai Air Force has acquired three. A has opted for the time being to offer a high-
Airlines. According to Xinhua news agency much larger offering is the Irkut MC-21, a twin- density version for the same number without
Wu Xingshi, the ARJ-21’s former chief engine short-to-medium range aircraft with a any stretch. ATR’s -72 model continues to win
designer said the plane “offers valuable capacity of between 150-212 passengers. It orders and is very popular with the region’s
experience for China’s aviation industry, like so many of the new larger regional jets is carriers. Large operators are Wings Air with
especially in the large civil aircraft area.” The powered by the PW1000G engine family. The 50, Mount Cook Airlines (45), Firefly (26),
ARJ-21 itself is certainly not a commercial MC-21 is a joint venture between Irkut and Garuda (15), Virgin Australia (14), MASwings
success yet but has orders for over 300 the Yakovlev Design Bureau of the United (13), Malindo (13) and Vietnam Airlines (10).
listed to mainly Chinese airlines. However, Aircraft Corporation. The design in fact is
the larger Comac C919 appears to have based on the Yakovlev Yak-242 which was a
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