China’s three largest carriers expect a marked increase in deliveries of Comac’s C919 narrowbody jet this year, according to their latest fleet plans.
The disclosures, made alongside their annual financial results, align with Comac’s previously disclosed plans to raise the production rate of its narrowbody programme this year.
The ‘Big Three’ – Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines – each expect to take delivery of between 10 and 12 C919s this year, doubling or tripling their existing fleets of the narrowbody.
Launch customer China Eastern, which has 10 C919s in service, aims to receive another 10 examples in 2025, doubling its operating fleet by the end of the year.
Similarly, Air China says it aims to receive 10 new C919s in 2025, bringing the total fleet to 13 examples by year-end.
China Southern, meanwhile, targets deliveries of 12 C919s, taking its operating fleet to 15 aircraft. Air China and China Southern only received their first C919s in August 2024, while China Eastern took delivery its first example in 2023.
In 2026 and 2027, the three operators expect to receive 10 C919s per year, an indication that production rates may have stabilised by then.
Comac executives were cited in local media reports in January that the Shanghai-based airframer was looking to deliver at least 30 C919s this year, as it raises production capacity to 50 aircraft annually.
The ‘Big Three’ are the programme’s largest customers, with orders for at least 100 C919s each. The type’s expanding orderbook with Chinese carriers has driven the need to expand production capacity.
While deliveries of the C919 are expected to ramp up this year, the ‘Big Three’ have also indicated that they would be taking delivery of their remaining C909 regional jet – formerly known as the ARJ21 – orders by the year-end.
Air China and China Southern expect to receive the final two C909s – from an orderbook of 40 jets each – by this year, while China Eastern will take its remaining 11 jets. No deliveries are forecast through 2027.
The ‘Big Three’ were in the black at the operating level for the year ended 31 December 2024, with China Eastern finally swinging to its first post-pandemic profit.
The Shanghai-based airline posted an operating profit of CNY1.6 billion ($221.8 million) for the full year, compared to a CNY1.9 billion operating loss in 2023. Revenue grew 16% to CNY138 billion, outpacing a 13% rise in expenses to CNY137 billion.
Air China, on the other hand, reported a 23% decline in its operating profit to CNY2.2 billion, as it felt the impact of rising costs. The Beijing-based operator saw its expenses rise 18%, narrowly outpacing a 17% rise in revenue for the full year.
China Southern recorded a 49% rise in operating profit to CNY8.2 billion, on the back of a 9% rise in revenues to CNY174 billion. Full-year costs were up 8% to nearly CNY172 billion.
