A model AG600 used for testing stall characteristics.
I saw this first picture and didn't notice the underslung model at first, and my dumb ol' brain thought for a split second: Wow, the latest iteration of the AG600 sure is different!
Chinese Aviation Industry
- Thread starter FriedRiceNSpice
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I saw this first picture and didn't notice the underslung model at first, and my dumb ol' brain thought for a split second: Wow, the latest iteration of the AG600 sure is different!
by78
General
According to the Jetliner (大飞机) magazine, which is published by COMAC, the maiden flight of MA700 indeed took place in April 2022, although it doesn't explicitly state what engines it few with. However, the article does mention that two engine options are available for MA700, the first being the AEP500 (5000+ KW or 6700+ hp), whose design was finalized in 2021 and has entered small-batch production. The second and the fallback option is the WJ-6E, which has achieved an output of 6000+ hp.
COMAC ARJ21: Opening China’s Regional Network?
Previously, regional flights in China are mainly operated by regional airlines with relatively small networks. Those airlines do not have a lot of opportunities to gather regional passengers to a hub and connect them further. Route planning tends to tilt towards the airport which offers a higher subsidy. China still has a large portion of the population that has no access to air transportation, and the lack of a regional network is one of the factors causing the situation.
In May 2020, COMAC ARJ21s were delivered to Air China, China Southern, and OTT Airlines (a subsidiary of China Eastern) on the same day. Air China positioned its ARJ21s in Hohhot, China, mainly eying on the vast regional market of Inner Mongolia; China Southern used its ARJ21s operating regional flights in the Guangdong area, aiming to solidify its market share in Southern China; China Easter used its ARJ21 for some low-throughput routes, and increased frequency to improve passenger satisfaction.
Outside of everybody’s expectations, the ARJ21 was a perfect complement to the big three airlines all mainline aircraft fleet. Especially during the COVID-19 period, ARJ21 is enough to support the reduced traffics, and maintain air connections between cities. The advantage of a big airline is that they have an extensive network, and ARJ21 did not only thrive in such a network but also unveiled new opportunities for those carriers.
Article notes 79 ARJ-21's have now been delivered.
The challenges to develop regional airlines network in China, at least compared to the US or even Europe, are several:
1. Chinese population are densely populated in the Eastern part of the country (45% of the territory, >80% of the population), which now are increasingly served by extensive high-speed rail network. The HSR services are frequent, cost-competitive and with wide location coverage.
2. China's civilian airports are fewer and tend to be in the big cities. Air traffic between big cities are high (pre-COVID) and can be more economically served with larger single-aisle aircraft (B737 class) or in some cases even with wide-body twin-aisle aircraft (B787 class).
3. Regional aircraft such as ARJ-21 are better suited for connecting smaller airports/cities to larger cities/airports or hubs and the large western part of the country where distances are vast and cities are more isolated and remote. But these western regions of the country such as Xinjiang, Sichuan, Yunan, Guizhou or even Inner Mongolia and Northeast are not as wealthy.
COVID has substantially reduced the air traffic in China in the last few years, but these are likely a short-term phenomenon. They create some needs for smaller regional aircraft like ARJ-21. The longer-term challenges listed above remain though.
There are still market potential for regional jets like ARJ-21 in China, but it will depend on how many airports are built over time in smaller cities and the economic development in smaller cities and the western part of the country.
Well, from a certain perspective, the ARJ-21 *isn't* a failure, nicht war?