ZHUHAI, China (Reuters) – Chinese planemaker COMAC has rebranded its ARJ21 regional jet as the C909, aligning the plane with the state-owned firm’s naming convention for its other models as it seeks to present itself as an alternative to dominant Western planemakers.
The rebrand, which was unveiled at China’s biggest air show in Zhuhai on Tuesday, features C909 painted in white on a blue tail.
“After careful consideration, a long gestation and asking opinions of many involved parties, we chose to use C909 as a new commercial name to build the brand,” Zhang Xiaoguang, COMAC’s marketing director, told reporters.
The C909 has also reduced weight, resistance and noise and made some improvements in flying costs compared to the previously marketed ARJ21, staff at COMAC’s air show booth told Reuters.
COMAC has launched the rebrand with the English slogan “Old friend, New look”, and a Chinese slogan that can be translated as “meeting an old friend for the first time”.
COMAC’s ARJ21 regional jet was China’s first jet engine-powered plane to reach commercial production, entering service in 2016.
Signs of the possible new name for the ARJ21 came in mid-October when one was spotted by aviation enthusiasts at a Chinese airport with C909 painted on its blue tail.
The tail design and C909 name correspond with the green tail and white lettering of COMAC’s C919 narrow-body jet that has been in service since 2023, and the red tail of its planned wide-body C929 which is under design.
The change signals Beijing’s growing intention to present itself as a full-scale alternative to Airbus and Boeing (NYSE:BA), which are both struggling to keep up with demand.
There are around 124 ARJ21s in operation, according to ch-aviation data, with various Chinese airlines and also Indonesian carrier TransNusa, COMAC’s only overseas operator so far.
A sign at its air show booth said COMAC had delivered 150 of the jets to 11 customers.
Hainan Airlines, said on Monday its low-cost subsidiary Urumqi Air would order 40 ARJ21-700 jets for delivery between 2025 and 2032.
Hainan said the basic list price of each ARJ21 is $38 million but substantial discounts will be applied, a process typical for aircraft purchases.