China postpones maiden flight of highly touted first regional jet

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BEIJING - The maiden flight of China's first homegrown commercial jet was planned for this month but has been postponed to September or October due to delays in the delivery of key components, a government news agency reported Saturday.

Officials were promoting the 85-seat ARJ21 as the basis for a Chinese passenger jet industry to rival regional jets produced by Canada's Bombardier and Brazil's Embraer.

The manufacturer, state-owned AVIC I Commercial Aircraft Co., has postponed the flight due to the late arrival of components, Xinhua News Agency quoted a company spokesman as saying.

"We are making efforts to ensure the key parts including the flight control system (are) delivered in time so that our customers won't be affected," Xinhua quoted the unidentified spokesman as saying. The report said the spokesman gave no other details.

AVIC I says it plans to begin mass production of the plane, dubbed the Xiangfeng or Flying Phoenix, in 2009.

The first plane rolled off the assembly line on Dec. 21 in an event shown on national television.

The communist government wants to build a commercial aerospace industry driven by China's booming air travel. It also hopes to attract foreign customers.

The company has predicted that China will need about 900 midsize regional jets to serve fast-growing feeder routes over the next two decades. It says the ARJ21 is expected to grab up to 60 per cent of the domestic market for regional airliners during that period.

The company has orders for 181 aircraft, all from Chinese carriers including Shandong Airlines, Shanghai Airlines and Xiamen Airlines, Xinhua said, citing the spokesman.

The company has signed a memorandum of understanding with GE Capital Aviation Services on the possible order of five jets.

"This is the first time China will sell airplanes to a Western country," the spokesman was quoted as saying.

© The Canadian Press, 2008