China Express Airlines takes first ARJ21

China Express Airlines (G5, Chongqing) has taken delivery of its first ARJ21-700 after B-650P (msn 141) arrived at its Chongqing hub from Shanghai Pudong on November 10. Following a series of crew familiarisation flights, the carrier will deploy the type into revenue service on thinner domestic Chinese routes. Earlier this month, China Express Airlines and COMAC formally signed a purchase contract for 100 aircraft, 50 of which are ARJ21 series aircraft, while the other 50 can be either ARJ21s or C919 series aircraft depending on subsequent negotiations between the two parties. The ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows that China Express currently operates an all-Western fleet of eleven A320-200s, two A320-200Ns, and thirty-eight CRJ900ERs.