Orders pour in for jumbo jets to be made in China

THE manufacturer of China's C919 jumbo jet yesterday secured 50 orders for the country's first commercial passenger jet at the 9th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in the southern city of Zhuhai, mainly from domestic buyers, boosting total orders to 380.

Commercial Aircraft Corp of China, or COMAC, also signed a deal with defunct Eastern Air Lines, announcing tentative purchase plans by investors said to be planning to resurrect the US-based airline that went bankrupt in 1991.

There have been sporadic reports of efforts to relaunch the airline, whose forked logo was seen on display as a backdrop to yesterday's signing ceremony at the show which attracted a record 650 exhibitors.

Once led by former World War I ace Eddie Rickenbacker and later by former Apollo astronaut Frank Borman, Miami-based Eastern Air Lines rose to become one of the largest airlines in the world before losing a battle against low-cost competition.

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