Aircraft

Shenzhen Airlines' and Mesa Airlines' new regional airline joint venture in China, Kunpeng Airways, plans to launch in September with Bombardier CRJ200s on lease and this year it will be placing an order for new 70-90-seat regional jet aircraft.

A senior official at Shenzhen Airlines, who wishes to remain anonymous, says: "We will launch operations before the end of the year, maybe September."

Kunpeng will launch with CRJ200s and this year plans to have nine aircraft of this type and in 2008 add a further 11 CRJ200s, says the official, who confirms that the airline's joint venture partner Mesa is helping to secure leases on the aircraft.

Kunpeng also plans to place an order this year for new 70-90-seat regional jets and is considering proposals from AVIC I Commercial Aircraft (ACAC), Embraer, Bombardier and Sukhoi.

The official was unable to say how many aircraft the company will be ordering or when the first new aircraft will be delivered, but an article in Safran's company newsletter quotes Snecma commercial engines head of China operations Olivier Laroche as saying: "The Superjet-100 is in direct competition with China's own ARJ21 regional jet" and Kunpeng has asked aircraft makers to bid for a contract for 100 aircraft.

Safran is the parent company of Snecma, the French company involved in the engine joint venture to build the PowerJet SaM146, the engine that powers the Sukhoi Superjet-100, a 95-seater Russian-built regional jet aircraft still in development.

China's ACAC has the ARJ21-700, a 90-seater still in development but due to enter commercial service in September 2009.

Embraer has the 170/190, 70- and 90-seaters, while Bombardier has the 70-seater CRJ700 and the 90-seater CRJ900.

Kunpeng is headquartered in Beijing but its operations base will be Xian, a city in western China.