Air China orders 100 C919 aircraft in $10.8 billion deal

(ECNS) -- Air China announced a major purchase of domestically produced C919 aircraft on Thursday evening.

According to the company, it has entered into an agreement with the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) to purchase 100 C919 aircraft of the extended-range variant at approximately $10.8 billion (about 78.4 billion yuan).

The announcement indicates that the basic price for each C919 extended-range aircraft includes the cost of the airframe, additional components, and engines.

"Compared with the same-level products from Boeing and Airbus, the domestically produced large aircraft C919 is very reasonably priced," said a civil aviation industry insider.

To date, C919 has received three major orders. China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, and Air China have each signed agreements with the COMAC to order 100 C919 aircraft.

The C919 extended-range (ER) variant differs from the standard model primarily in its increased maximum takeoff weight and enhanced range.

The maximum takeoff weight for the ER model is 78.9 metric tons, an increase of 3.8 metric tons over the standard model's 75.1 tons.

The standard commercial payload range is extended to over 5,500 kilometers, compared to the basic model's range of approximately 4,100 kilometers.

The delivery of the 100 aircraft is planned to be carried out in batches from 2024 to 2031.