An Okay Airways flight lands at Taoxian International Airport in Shenyang on Tuesday, after circling in the air for three hours. Photo: CFP

Two airplane accidents in less than a month have triggered a heated discussion about the quality and reliability of homemade airplanes.

On Tuesday afternoon, a homemade Modern Ark 60 (MA60), operated by privately owned Okay Airways, flying from Tianjin to Shenyang, could not land safely due to a fault with its landing gear.

After three hours of circling the airport, the plane, which had 30 passengers on board, was finally able to land successfully.

On February 4, another MA60, operated by Joy Air, had a problem with its nose gear before landing in Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport, Henan Province. Fortunately, nobody was injured.

The MA60 is a twin turboprop aircraft produced by Xi'an Aircraft Industry (Group) Co, part of Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC).

On Tuesday night, the company announced on its website that it will apply to suspend MA60 flights and conduct a safety check on the landing gear indicator system. It also said it would send professional teams to conduct safety checks for overseas users.

The MA60 has won more than 200 orders so far, and 88 of the airplanes have been delivered to 27 customers in 16 countries and regions.

"There is no need to worry about the safety of the MA60, as it started being built more than a decade ago, and the model was developed based on mature products," an expert familiar with the matter who did not wish to be named told the Global Times on Wednesday.

He said the daily average flying hours for the MA60 are about seven hours, most for short-distance, less than the 12 hours for wide-body airplanes and 10 hours for narrow-body airplanes, so the usage of MA60 is low.

Despite the problems affecting the MA60, other homegrown airplanes are being developed, as China seeks to boost its aviation industry.

The ARJ21-700, a jet developed by Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd (COMAC), was expected to be available for commercial use next year, but the schedule has been put back by several years.

At a meeting with the media held by COMAC in Beijing on Wednesday, Qian Zhongyan, an engineer at the company, confirmed that the plane has entered into the final stage to win airworthiness certification, a crucial stage before being launched into the market for commercial flights.

As for the company's C919 model, the first large passenger jet developed by COMAC, Qian said it is at the planning stage prior to gaining airworthiness certification, and there is still a lot of work ahead.

Qian did not disclose when the C919 would have its maiden flight, but market rumors said that it could be in 2015, with deliveries set for 2017.

However, the homemade models face stiff competition from rivals such as Boeing, Airbus and Embraer, with the first two in particular having already grabbed most of the market share in China. And Embraer is a strong competitor for COMAC's ARJ21 series.

Meanwhile, insiders also said that the engines for the C919 will come from US-based CFM International, which also provides engines for the rival Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737Max models.

So far, the total number of orders for the C919 has reached 400, far behind that of over 2,500 orders for the A320neo, and more than 1,500 orders for the Boeing 737Max. 



Airlines announce new deals, flights

Air France

Air France said Tuesday that during the summer 2014 season it will serve Hong Kong with a daily flight, operating at night both on the way there and back, thus making it easier for customers to rest prior to their arrival.

From May 27 to June 8 this year, the flight will be operated by the Airbus A380 (four times weekly) and the Boeing 777-300 (three times weekly). From June 9 to October 25, the service will use the A380.

United Airlines

United Airlines announced Wednesday that it will introduce nonstop flights between Melbourne and its Los Angeles International Airport hub from October 28, subject to government approval.

The airline will use Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft to operate the six-times-weekly service. United Airlines is the North American launch customer for the 787-9 and this will be its first international deployment of the new aircraft.

Honeywell

Honeywell Aerospace has signed a memorandum of understanding with Air China to begin testing its GX Aviation system on the airline's A330 aircraft. Air China is the first airline to collaborate with Honeywell and Inmarsat to test the GX Ka-band connectivity solution, and joint testing is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2015.

GX Aviation represents a new era in cabin connectivity for commercial aircraft. Its greater speed and bandwidth will bring Air China one step closer to providing customers with a home- and office-like wireless connectivity experience even at 40,000 feet.

Passengers will have the freedom to do what they want online in-flight, from chatting on social media to streaming videos. With GX Aviation, passengers can expect a 60 percent improvement in download speed for their in-flight connectivity compared with current solutions in the market today.

Boeing

Boeing said Tuesday that it delivered the first 777-300ER (Extended Range) to China Southern Airlines, Asia's largest airline in terms of fleet size and number of passengers carried. The new airplane is the first of 10 777-300ERs China Southern has on order with Boeing.

China Southern plans to operate its first 777-300ER on its new North America route, where it will be able to connect passengers in the southern regions of China with the eastern coast of the US.

China Southern has configured its new 777-300ER to feature four distinct cabins, with four first class seats, 34 business class seats, 44 premium economy seats and 227 economy seats.

Korean Air

Korean Air has announced a codeshare agreement with Air Tahiti Nui on the Seoul-Papeete (via Tokyo) route, starting from March 1, 2014.

The codeshare flights to Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia, located on the island of Tahiti, will provide more options for Korean Air's passengers traveling to Tahiti.

Among Korean Air's five daily flights to Tokyo Narita Airport, the most convenient flight for connections to Papeete departs from Seoul's Incheon International Airport at 10:10 (local time) and arrives in Narita at 12:30 the same day.

Cathay Pacific Airways and Qatar Airways

Cathay Pacific Airways and Qatar Airways, members of the oneworld alliance, announced Wednesday a strategic agreement on services operated by both airlines between Hong Kong and Doha, effective from March 30, 2014.

Under the new agreement, Cathay Pacific and Qatar Airways will each operate one flight between Hong Kong and Qatar daily, offering premium products and services to passengers traveling to and from the two cities.

Cathay Pacific will make its debut on the Doha route on March 30, launching a daily service using Airbus A330-300 aircraft with a three-class configuration: business class, premium economy class and economy class.