China Eastern orders more C919s
On 28 September 2023, China Eastern announced it has reached an agreement with Chinese manufacturer COMAC for an order for additional C919s. According to the airline's statement, the deal is for 100 C919s, which are to be delivered between 2024 and 2031.
Previously, the airline held orders for a total of 20 C919s, of which two have so far been delivered. However, various news reports were stating the airline only had five on order, which begs the question of this 100 C919s is including the fifteen missing in action.
Anyway, China Eastern expects to take delivery of three more C919s this year, five in 2024, ten in each year between 2025 to 2027, fifteen in each year between 2028 to 2030, and the final 20 in 2031.
The C919s will be used by the airline to replace older generation narrowbody aircraft in the fleet, which today consists of 35 Airbus A319s, 166 A320s, 104 A320neos, 77 A321s, 30 A330-200s, 25 A330-300s, 18 A350-900s, 36 Boeing B737-700s, 102 B737-800s, three B737-8s, 20 B777-300ERs, and three B787-9s.
China Eastern Airlines launched commercial service with the C919 on 28 May 2023. The two in service are based at Shanghai-Hongqiao and mainly used for flights to Chengdu.
Photo via the Chinese Embassy of Switzerland.