Article Posted on : - Aug 03, 2014

The Xinzhou aircraft of China.

BEIJING (PTI): China's airline company Joy Air has inked a deal with Chinese airplane manufacturer AVIC for the purchase of 60 locally made Xinzhou passenger aircrafts.

The largest such order received so far by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) for indigenously developed Xinzhou aircraft was separated into 30 for confirmed purchase and 30 for order of intent, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

AVIC has delivered its first Xinzhou aircraft in 2005 and since then it has received orders for 270 such planes from 27 customers in 17 countries.

Presently, nearly 100 Xinzhou aircraft are in active service in 260 flight lines in Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia and South Pacific nations.

"We hope Xinzhou provides first-class service to passengers. And we hope more Chinese people travel on our home-made aircrafts," said Lin Zuoming, president of AVIC.

AVIC is a state-owned conglomerate with business interests in transport aircraft, engine, helicopter, avionics and systems, as well as in aviation research.

Based in northwest Chinese city of Xi'an, Joy Air has been in service since 2009. By the end of July, Joy Air has carried over 1.12 million passengers on 31 routes with a fleet of eight Xinzhou aircraft.