(Yicai) April 30 -- China Southern Airlines, the country's largest carrier by fleet size and passenger numbers, will order 100 of the C919, the first large passenger plane developed independently by China, with deliveries to start this year and last through 2031.

The order is worth USD9.9 billion, but China Southern will pay much less thanks to a big discount from maker Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, the Guangzhou-based airline announced yesterday.

Air China, the country's flagship carrier, also ordered 100 C919 jets on April 26, while China Eastern Airlines bought the same number last September.

The C919, a narrow-body aircraft, was developed to rival the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320. It meets the International Civil Aviation Organization's requirements and has 158 to 168 seats, with a mileage of 4,075 kilometers to 5,555 km.

China Eastern took delivery of the very first C919 on Dec. 9, 2022, and its first commercial flight was in May last year. The Shanghai-based firm has received five so far, all in commercial operation on domestic routes, with its C919 fleet likely to double in size by the end of the year. 

Orders for the C919 had reached 1,061 as of last September, Comac Chairman He Dongfeng said at the time. The company also plans variants, seating 130 and 240 passengers, He said.

Comac plans to make 150 C919 jets every year over the next five years, Deputy General Manager Zhang Yujin has said.

Hainan Airlines also ordered 60 C919 aircraft this year, while Brunei's Gallop Air ordered five last September. Suparna Airlines, a smaller private airline owned by HNA Aviation Group, said it will get its first C919 in the fourth quarter of this year and replace its Boeing fleet with 30 C919s over the next three to four years.

Comac will deliver eight C919s to China Eastern, Air China, China Southern, and Suparna Airlines this year. Airbus delivered 116 A320s in the first quarter, while Boeing made 38 737s a month in the period.

Editor: Martin Kadiev