Source: ATW Daily News Author: Katie Cantle 06/26/2008
Subject Concerned: Aircraft
China's new turboprop aircraft, the MA600 (an enhanced version of the MA60), is scheduled to roll out in Xi'an on June 29.
The MA600 was designed to optimize the MA60's structure and avionics system as well as improve its cabin interior. To date, the 50/60-seat MA60 has received 122 orders from Asia, Latin America and Africa, with seven aircraft delivered since 2005.
Xi'an Aircraft Industry Co. (XAIC) VP and Chief Designer He Shengqiang said the MA600 is expected to enter service next year, with the first delivery to the Civil Aviation Flight University of China (CAFUC) in Sichuan Province.
XAIC, a subsidiary of AVIC I, forecasts a demand for 300 MA600s over the next 10 years, mainly from operators in the Asia/Pacific, Middle East, Latin America, Africa and CIS, according to AVIC I Civil Aircraft Dept. Deputy Director Chen Fusheng. It plans to produce 10-15 of the new aircraft per year by 2012.
XAIC Marketing Director Zhang Xiaohong said some Chinese carriers also are considering the MA600. She predicted that 120 MA600s will be delivered domestically in the next decade.
AVIC I has ambitious plans for the MA series, which will include the MA60, MA600 and an MA700. The series "will become the main focus of AVIC's civil aircraft production after AVIC I's integration with AVIC II," AVIC I VP Hu Wenming said. Hu said research and development already have begun on the 70-seat MA700. "Our goal is to grab a 40% share of the global [regional aircraft] market by 2017," Chen said.