(Yicai) Oct. 29 -- Indonesia’s TransNusa Airlines completed its first flight from Manado to Guangzhou this morning using the ARJ21 aircraft. At a distance of 2,700 kilometers, this is the longest commercial route flown by China’s first domestically developed regional passenger plane.

Adding more international flights that use the ARJ21 aircraft is part of TransNusa’s long-term development plan, said Liu Wanting, chairman of TransNusa’s China operations as well as president and chief commercial officer of China Aircraft Leasing.

TransNusa has a fleet of three ARJ21 planes, which can fly distances of up to 3,700 kilometers and can seat as many as 97 passengers. The Jakarta-based carrier was the first overseas carrier to operate the ARJ21 in December 2022. It uses the planes on domestic flights and on an international route from Jakarta to Kuala Lumpur which it put into operation in July 2023.

China Aircraft Leasing owns a 35.6 percent stake in TransNusa’s parent firm, TAM, which it paid USD28 million for in 2020 to promote the overseas use of the ARJ21 aircraft. In early 2021, China Aircraft Leasing ordered 60 ARJ21s from manufacturer Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, half of which were firm orders, with the intention of introducing them into overseas markets.

Brunei’s Gallop Airline signed a USD2 billion letter of intent with Beijing-based COMAC last year for aircraft including the ARJ21. And Vietnam's Vietjet Air also plans to introduce the ARJ21 aircraft through leasing.

Chengdu Airlines already uses the ARJ21 on international routes from Harbin to Vladivostok in Russia and from Kashgar to Khujand in Tajikistan. China Southern Airlines plans to start flying from Guangzhou to Brunei at the end of this month using the ARJ21.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Kim Taylor