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China’s COMAC aircraft gets 20 new orders
October 29, 2013, 12:13 pm

The COMAC C919 will compete with the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 aircrafts [Xinhua]

The COMAC C919 will compete with the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 aircrafts [Xinhua]

The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) has received 20 more orders for the C919 aircraft, bringing the total number of orders to 400.

The finance leasing arm of China’s Industrial Bank Co. signed the contract with the aircraft maker for the new orders on Monday.

“The orders for C919, China’s largest domestically produced aircraft, have showed the increasing demand and confidence in aircraft made in China,” said Tian Min Chief Accountant at COMAC.

The COMAC C919 will compete with the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 aircrafts.

It was scheduled for its first flight next year, but that has now been delayed until 2015.

“For safety concerns, it is quite necessary to postpone the maiden flight of the C919,” added Tian.

COMAC is a government-owned aircraft manufacturer which was founded in 2008.

The aircraft maker predicted last year that 31,739 new planes, valued at $3.9 trillion, would be needed worldwide in the next 20 years to meet global demand.

China’s passenger traffic will grow 7.2 per cent each year to 2031, according to COMAC’s projections.

Source: Agencies