ZHUHAI: COMAC said on Tuesday that Air China was the first customer for the Chinese planemaker’s C929 widebody aircraft under development that is designed to compete with twin-aisle models from Airbus and Boeing.

COMAC’s deputy director of marketing, Liu Yan, made the announcement at China’s biggest air show in Zhuhai.

Liu did not disclose the number of aircraft that Beijing-based Air China would purchase or planned delivery dates.

aircraft maker also announced that Hainan Airlines had placed a firm order for 60 C919 narrowbody and 40 C909 regional jets.

Colorful Guizhou Airlines signed a purchase agreement for 30 C909 planes, it added, 20 of which are firm and the remainder provisional. COMAC has said the C929 will have 280 to 400 seats and a range of 12,000 km (7,500 miles), which is in the same category as Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner.

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The C929 was renamed in 2023 from the CR929 after Russia left a China-Russia joint venture developing the aircraft.

A report in April from the C929’s fuselage manufacturer said it aimed to deliver the first fuselage section by September 2027.

COMAC deputy general manager Tong Yu in May told a group of Hong Kong reporters in Shanghai that a C929 prototype will be seen in the near future and estimated the jet could “soon” take a test flight, according to Hong Kong newspaper Tai Kong Pao.