China celebrates maiden flight of home-grown ARJ21 jetliner

An ARJ21 jet is greeted with a water arch at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

An ARJ21 (Advanced Regional Jet for 21st Century) plane that took off from Indonesia landed at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in the Guangdong provincial capital at about 9 am on Tuesday, completing the maiden flight of the Manado-Guangzhou route of Indonesia's TransNusa Airlines and the longest commercial route for China's first home-grown regional jetliner that meets international standards.

The Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport welcomed the plane, dubbed "Ah Jiao", home with a water arch, the highest etiquette in the civil aviation industry, according to a press release from the airport.

Wu Guofang, captain of the flight and captain instructor for TransNusa Airlines, said the aircraft's performance is excellent, marking a solid step forward in the international development of domestic commercial aircraft.

TransNusa Airlines is the first overseas customer of the ARJ21.

The new round-trip flight between Manado and Guangzhou will initially operate three times a week.

The Manado-Guangzhou flights will land in Guangzhou at about 10:55 pm every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, and the Guangzhou-Manado flights will depart from Baiyun Airport at 12:05 am every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

At the end of November, the route will increase to seven round-trip flights a week, all using ARJ21 jets.

Liu Wanting, president of China Aircraft Leasing Group and Chinese chairman of TransNusa Airline, said one of TransNusa's long-term development strategies is to increase the number of ARJ21 international flights in an orderly manner.

"The use of domestically produced ARJ21 aircraft by TransNusa Airlines is not only another milestone for domestic aircraft but also a milestone for the commercial operation of domestic civil aircraft overseas," said Liu.

Deng Yonggang, deputy general manager of Guangdong Airport Authority, said the ARJ21 aircraft connects the friendship between people of China and India, further promoting exchanges and cooperation in economic, cultural, tourism and other fields between the major cities of China and Indonesia, providing more convenient travel options for passengers.