TransNusa (8B, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta) has taken delivery of its first ARJ21-700, PK-TJA ( msn 186), which was officially handed over on Sunday, December 18. The occasion also marks the first delivery of the aircraft type to a customer outside China. The Indonesian low-cost carrier was meant to take the plane late last year, the first of 30 it has due from COMAC, but owing to the pandemic and the suspension of TransNusa flights, the delivery was deferred.
COMAC has delivered twenty-seven ARJ21s this year and a total of 93 since production began - all to Chinese carriers such as Chengdu Airlines, Air China, China Southern Airlines, China Express Airlines, Jiangxi Airlines, and OTT Airlines. TransNusa's interest in the ARJ21 may be partly explained by its ownership structure. China Aircraft Leasing Group Holdings (CALC) holds a 49% equity interest in PT TransNusa Aviation Mandiri (TransNusa's formal name). CALC is a subsidiary of the state-owned China Everbright Group which has a long-term customer relationship with state-owned COMAC. CALC deepened that relationship in 2018 when it signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the aircraft manufacturer to increase the sales and operation of Chinese made aircraft.
TransNusa only resumed scheduled passenger flights in early October 2022 after suspending operations in September 2020. The airline runs a limited network across Indonesia's most heavily trafficked domestic routes, such as those between Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta and Denpasar and Yogyakarta International. According to ch-aviation fleets data, TransNusa presently operates three aircraft in addition to the freshly arrived ARJ21-700. All three aircraft - two A320-200s and a A320-200N, are at the airline via operating leases with CALC. PK-TJA is also arriving at TransNusa via a CALC operating lease.
