China-developed ARJ21 jetliner completes its first flight in Indonesia

(ECNS) -- A China-developed ARJ21 jetliner took off from Jakarta at 12:50 p.m. local time on Tuesday and landed at the Bali Ngurah Rai International Airport two hours later, completing its first overseas flight.

“The successful flight in Indonesia marks a new stride that ARJ21 in the international market,” said Wu Yongliang, deputy general manager of COMAC.

This is the first overseas order of jetliner independently developed by China, said Wu.

Developed by Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC), the ARJ21 aircraft has a range of up to 3,700 km. Currently, 100 ARJ21 aircraft have been delivered to clients, with over 200,000 flight hours achieved.

The ARJ21 purchased by Indonesian TransNusa Airline has 95 economy-class seats and fully customized inner and outer configurations. Its outer appearance is painted blue, yellow, and green, which symbolize the sky, humankind, and the earth, respectively. The Indonesian flag is printed on its fuselage.

As the largest ASEAN economy, Indonesia has a burgeoning aviation market. The country's tens of thousands of islands are suitable for the operation of regional aircraft.

The ARJ-21 aircraft is safe, reliable, economical and environmentally friendly, and very suitable the geographical and climatic conditions in ASEAN countries, said Liu Wanting, deputy CEO of China Aircraft Leasing Group.

The aircraft also fills the market gap of 100-seat regional aircraft in ASEAN in the post-pandemic era, Liu added.