Metal for the first Chinese-built McDonnell Douglas (MDC) MD-90-30 TrunkLiner has been cut by Shanghai Aviation Industrial (SAIC) and sub-assembly manufacturers Xian and Chengdu Aircraft. SAIC will deliver the first of 20 MD-90 twinjets in the first quarter of 1998. MDC is, meanwhile, understood to be close to concluding a final contract with China Eastern and China Northern Airlines for 20 Long Beach-built MD-90s. The $700 million deal calls for the first 150-seat aircraft to be delivered in 1996.
Source: Flight International
