On August 15, a Modern Ark 60 (MA 60) aircraft, which took off from Xi'an Xianyang International Airport carrying 32 passengers, landed at Yan'an Airport. This marked the beginning of a new situation whereby a high volume of China-made civil aircraft is operated by domestic airlines, and a new era for China's aviation industry.
The airline using the MA 60 aircraft is China Joy Air Co., Ltd., a new company jointly established by China-based Aviation Industry Corporation and China Eastern Airlines in March 2008 with a joint investment of one billion yuan.
China Joy Air plans to operate a fleet of 100 aircraft within eight years. Its target market is small and medium cities, with flight distances of between 400 and 800 kilometers.
To develop regional aviation, suitable regional aircraft are required. However at present, most regional aircraft operating in China are imported.
The China-made MA 60 aircraft has been on the market for about ten years, and they were once coldly received by the domestic market. However, the China-made MA 60 aircraft will be the sole aircraft model used by China Joy Air.
Establishing an operation base at Xi'an Xianyang International Airport will help the company take advantage of Xi'an's powerful aircraft development capacity. The turboprop regional aircraft, which include the MA 60 and MA 600, were developed and manufactured by China-based Aviation Industry Corporation and will be the main aircraft used during China Joy Air's preliminary operational period. Later the airline will gradually adopt more China-made ARJ21 turbofan planes.
The MA 60 is a regional passenger aircraft that was designed, produced and tested by China strictly in accordance with the CCAR-25 Airworthiness Standard for the first time, and has independent intellectual property rights.
The MA 600 is a new type of turboprop regional aircraft developed by China and based on the MA 60. At present, it has entered the testing period, and will obtain an Airworthiness Certificate and be delivered to customers by the end of 2009. In the future, the MA 600 will become the main type of aircraft purchased by China Joy Air.
By People's Daily Online
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