China’s OTT Airlines completes certification, launches

OTT Airlines (OTT, Shanghai Hongqiao) began scheduled flight operations on Monday, December 28, just over three days after the carrier secured its CCAR 121 and 135 AOCs from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (Eastern division). A statement said its inaugural flight was MU5159 Shanghai Hongqiao-Beijing Capital. Other sectors that will roll out from January 4 through 28 include Shanghai Pudong to each of Beijing Daxing Int’l, Nanchang, Hefei, and Wenzhou. OTT Airlines has been tasked with operating its parent China Eastern Airlines’ incoming fleet of locally-made COMAC aircraft including thirty-five ARJ21-700s and up to twenty C919s. CAAC has given its consent for OTT to operate three ARJ21s in its initial phase of operations, growing to six in 2021, and eight in 2022. By 2025, all thirty-five ARJ21s should be in place and operational.