Chinese COMAC C909 regional jets may appear in Kazakhstan

Photo: Peng Chen / Wikipedia

An airline operating Chinese COMAC C909 regional passenger jets (earlier known as ARJ21) could be established in Kazakhstan. The Ministry of Transport of this Central Asian republic discussed the possibility of creating such a joint carrier with China’s airline Urumqi Airlines.

According to the ministry, the new Kazakh-Chinese airline could operate regional flights, including to the new airports currently under construction in Zaysan, Katon-Karagai, and other cities with tourism potential.

Urumqi Airlines currently has three C909 aircraft in its fleet with a capacity of 78 passengers, including eight business class seats and 70 in economy. The airline also has an order for the delivery of 40 more aircraft of this type. In addition, it operates 17 Boeing 737-800 aircraft with a capacity of up to 190 seats.

At the meeting with the ministry, Urumqi Airlines announced plans to launch regular flights to Kazakhstan on the routes Urumqi – Karaganda, Yining (Gulja) – Astana, and Yining (Gulja) – Almaty. The Kazakh side also invited the airline to consider starting flights to Ust-Kamenogorsk and Semey.