A visitor views a model of the ARJ21 regional jet at the China International Exhibition Center on September 19, 2007 in Beijing, China. (Photo : Getty Images)
China Aircraft Leasing Group (CALC) has acquired 30 Comac ARJ-21 regional jets with plans to order 30 more in a deal potentially worth $2.3 billion.
The aircraft would be used by an unnamed Indonesian airline in which CALC's parent firm, Hong Kong-based investment firm Friedmann Pacific Asset Management, plans to invest in, the company told Reuters in a statement on Monday.
The 78-90 seater ARJ-21 jet, which can carry up to 90 passengers, will be delivered over the next five years while Comac, a Chinese state-owned firm, will establish maintenance and after-sales facilities in Indonesia as part of the deal.
CALC, which previously ordered 20 of Comac's larget C919 narrow-body planes in 2012, said the latest deal highlights its confidence in China-built aircraft and gave it more flexibility in providing leasing options for airlines in the region.
The company said it currently has 70 Airbus and Boeing aircraft and plans to add another 103 Airbus planes by 2022.
In a separate statement, Comac said it had also received another order for 30 ARJ-21 jets from AVIC Leasing, a subsidiary of Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). The company did not disclose the value of the deal.
The orders are a boon for the ARJ-21, which is more than a decade behind its original schedule and had its maiden commercial flight with Chengdu Airlines in late June.
The aircraft competes with similar small passenger jets manufactured by Brazil's Embraer SA, Canada's Bombardier Inc, and Russia's Sukhoi Superjet.
More than 300 orders have been made for ARJ-21, most of which from domestic carriers, with General Electric (GE) supplying the engines, according to Reuters.
The jet has yet to receive certification from the United States' Federal Aviation Administration and other overseas regulators, meaning that only airlines in China and recognize the Chinese certification process can operate the aircraft.
China is eager to establish itself as a global aircraft supplier. Its homegrown C919 narrow-body jet is designed to compete with the established Boeing 737 and Airbus A320, while the country has recently entered a joint widebody aircraft project with Russia.
