What is the origin of the foreign aviation that placed an order for 30 domestic aircraft of 5 models?

During the recently concluded ASEAN Expo, COMAC received another 30 large orders for aircraft, this time from Brunei's overseas user, Brunei Qiji Airlines. The two sides signed a letter of intent for the purchase of domestically produced large aircraft, amounting to US$2 billion. According to the aviation travel circle, Qiji Airlines also paid a deposit.

It is worth noting that this order covers COMAC's current various models, including 15 C919, 15 ARJ21 passenger aircraft, 3 ARJ21 freighters, 1 ARJ21 medical aircraft, 1 CBJ business jet, Qi Ji Airlines is expected to become the world's first overseas airline to operate with a large aircraft produced in China, the first overseas user of ARJ21 freighter aircraft, and the first user of medical jet business jet.

Where did Qiji Airlines come from?

According to public information, Qiji Airlines is a new airline prepared by Shaanxi Tianju Investment Group in Brunei, and plans to make its maiden flight in 2024. Tianju Investment Group said in relevant reports that as an active participant in China's "Belt and Road" initiative, Qiji Airlines adopts a fleet of domestic large aircraft throughout China, focusing on strengthening aviation links with China, especially Guangxi, and plans to include Nanning and Guilin among the first cities to start flights.

Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tianju Group and Chairman of Brunei Airlines said that the opening of Qiji Airlines is a supplement for Royal Brunei Airlines in second-tier and regional cities in the Asia-Pacific region, and can provide passenger source support for Royal Brunei Airlines' long-haul routes.

At the same time, Qiji Airlines has been preparing for the operation of domestic aircraft in Brunei, the first batch of introduction or will be ARJ21 aircraft, according to Tianju Investment Group previously reported, in August this year, Qiji Airlines has invited a commercial flying delegation to Brunei for exchanges, the delegation has successively discussed with the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Ministry of Transport and Information and Communications, the Civil Aviation Administration, the Economic Development Bureau, and visited the Chinese Embassy in Brunei, the head office of the Bank of China, visited CAE Brunei Training Center, Brunei Institute of Aviation Technology, Royal Hangar 4 at Brunei International Airport.

During the discussion, the Brunei government expressed its full recognition of the manufacturing level of China's aviation industry and the business model of cooperation and complementarity between Qi Ji Airlines and Royal Brunei Airlines, and plans to send representatives of the Ministry of Communications and the Civil Aviation Administration of China to visit China in September this year to explore with the Civil Aviation Administration of China to obtain Brunei airworthiness certification for ARJ21, and also plans to visit COMAC in Shanghai, hoping to promote ARJ21 Brunei certification and Qi Ji Airlines flight as soon as possible.

Tianju's dream of a domestic aircraft

In fact, this is not the first time that Tianju Investment Group has prepared to establish an airline and purchase domestic aircraft, according to the group's official website, it started in the advertising industry in 1996 and currently has five major business segments: one is the "wine business" business segment, and the other is the "comprehensive ticketing" business segment (mainly involving airline charter, air ticket agency, hotel, tourism, performance ticketing and railway tickets, etc.); The third is the "general aviation" business segment; The fourth is the "aviation services" business segment; The fifth is the "advertising planning" business segment.

As early as 2015, it established Tianju Aviation Co., Ltd. as a joint venture with two Xi'an state-owned enterprises, of which Tianju Investment Group accounted for 20% of the shares, and the two Xi'an state-owned enterprises accounted for 70% and 10% respectively.

At the 2018 Zhuhai Air Show, Tianju Airlines also signed a cooperation agreement with COMAC and AVIC Leasing Company to purchase 30 ARJ21 aircraft, planning to serve as a regional airline in the western region to fill the gap in the plateau area to open the channel to the outside world.

However, Tianju Airlines has not yet obtained the operating license issued by the Civil Aviation Administration, but the current status of the company is still in business, in the past ten years, there are more than ten airlines like Tianju Airlines that have not obtained a "birth permit" for many years and even announced their death at the preparation stage.

In the case of unsuccessful domestic preparations, Tianju Investment Group turned its attention overseas.

In 2021, CALC, a subsidiary of China Everbright Group, signed an agreement with COMAC to purchase 60 domestically produced ARJ21 aircraft (30 of which were confirmed orders and 30 were intentional orders), the first of which was delivered at the end of last year and operated by Indonesia's Lingya Airlines, a subsidiary of CALC.

ARJ21 performance in Indonesia is quite good, according to flight steward data, from late July to early August, two ARJ21s of Lingya were put into the Jakarta to Kuala Lumpur route, with 4 flights per day per day, and the daily utilization rate has exceeded 7 hours/day.

Do you think Tianju's aviation dream can be successful, and can Qiji Airlines be smoothly introduced and launched?