Recently, an aviation data platform released China's regional aviation report for the first half of 2024, which shows that the operation of the domestic regional aviation market has undergone major changes, with regional airliners reduced from four major models to three major models, and domestic jet regional airliners ARJ21 have sprung up and become the main force.
In the first half of 2024, there are only three regional airliners participating in domestic regional airline operations, namely the domestically produced ARJ21, Canada's Bombardier CRJ900 and Embraer's E190. In 2023, China will also have a domestic turboprop regional airliner, the MA60, to participate in the operation, and with its retirement, there will be no more turboprop airliners in domestic regional airlines. As a result, it also opened the era of China's regional aviation fully realizing jetization.
In the late 90s of the last century, based on the Y-7 short/medium-haul transport aircraft, the MA60 was used to comprehensively optimize and upgrade the Y-7-200A and transform the technology by using the design concept of modern commercial aircraft, so as to create a turboprop regional airliner. By improving the piloting and handling performance of the aircraft, optimizing the flight system, increasing the size of the vertical tail, and extending the span of the horizontal tail, the longitudinal and heading stability of the aircraft is significantly improved.
In order to solve the problem of noise pollution, Xifei Company had the courage to try and replaced the propellers of the aircraft with the 247F-3 all-composite four-bladed propeller manufactured by Hamilton Company of the United States, which is known for its low noise characteristics. At the same time, the engine was replaced, and the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW-127J turboprop engine was used. As a result of these improvements, the noise level has been reduced by 8 decibels and the ride comfort has been significantly improved.
In addition, the avionics system of the MA60 has also been upgraded, equipped with the APS-85 autopilot system of Collins of the United States, which has the functions of autopilot and flight guidance, and can meet the needs of Class II blind landing. The landing gear adopts an electronic anti-skid braking system, which effectively shortens the braking distance of the landing run. In addition, the system also has the ability to reverse on the ground, reducing the dependence on ground support.
Thanks to the upgrade of the autonomous driving system, the MA60 has changed the cockpit to a two-person configuration common in the civil aviation industry on the basis of the Y-7, and the fuselage has been extended. At the same time, the airborne equipment adopts many international advanced technologies, for example, the auxiliary power unit is selected from the United States Garrett company. Key parts such as cockpit control systems, electronics, warning systems, instrument panels and operating platforms are all powered by the latest aviation technology. After these radical transformations, the aircraft was renamed the MA60.
It is understood that the MA60 is 24.7 meters long, with a wingspan of 29.2 meters, a height of 8.853 meters, and a wing area of 74.98 square meters. It can carry 62 passengers, with a maximum load of 5.5 tons, an empty weight of 13.7 tons, a maximum take-off weight of 21.8 tons, and a maximum fuel load of 4 tons. The maximum commercial range is 1,100 km, the full passenger range is 2,400 km, the maximum fuel range is 2,600 km, and the maximum cruise speed is 504 km/h.
Up to now, nearly 120 domestically produced MA60 series aircraft have been delivered to users around the world, including about 50 domestic users and more than 60 overseas users, with more than 600,000 flight hours. And developed into a series, including MA60 passenger aircraft, MA60D freighter, MA60E rain booster, MA60R remote sensing aircraft, MA60 medical ambulance, MA60B business jet, etc.
The first official domestic user of the MA60 is Okay Air, with a total of 13 aircraft purchased. Since then, Happiness Airlines has purchased 28 aircraft and put them into operation. Abroad, airlines from 18 countries, including Cameroon, Congo (Brazzaville), Zimbabwe, Zambia, Laos, Indonesia, the Philippines and Bolivia, have purchased the MA60, which is distributed in four continents, including Asia, Africa, South America and Oceania, and operates smoothly on more than 300 routes.
In recent years, as the ARJ21, a jet regional airliner independently developed by Continental, has gradually achieved large-scale production and commercial operation, the MA60 equipped with turboprop engine is difficult to compete with the ARJ21 in terms of performance, efficiency, space and comfort, and has gradually withdrawn from the regional aviation market. As of 2023, the MA60 also operates 10.5% of the regional flights among the four major regional airliners in China. But by 2024, the MA60 has all been withdrawn from the operations of Okay Air and Happiness Airlines.
After the domestic ARJ21 was withdrawn from operation in the MA60, its market share grew rapidly, from 4.51% of the four major regional airliners in 2023 to 38.36% in the first half of 2024, an increase of more than 8.5 times. Bombardier CRJ900 and Embraer E190 accounted for 32.07% and 29.5% respectively, both declining to varying degrees.
As Bombardier's largest customer in China, China Express Airlines currently has a fleet of 38 Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft and eight COMAC ARJ21 regional airliners. In 2020. China Express Airlines has signed a contract for the purchase of 50 ARJ21-700ER aircraft, which will be delivered in 2025. At that time, with the gradual withdrawal of CRJ900 and E190, the domestic ARJ21 is likely to account for more than eighty percent of the domestic regional aviation market.