Xian Aircraft Company (Xi'an Yanliang) has announced Okay Airways (BK, Tianjin) and JoyAir (JR, Xi'an Xianyang) as the launch customers for its proposed new MA700 turboprop aircraft, due to make its first flight in 2017. No exact order numbers were disclosed.
Announced during the the 10th China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai, parent AVIC said the two carriers would now be directly involved in the aircraft's development.
Both Okay Airways and JoyAir already operate MA-60 aircraft on domestic Chinese services.
The MA700, designed in conjunction with the Antonov Design Bureau (Gostomel), will be a 70-seater aircraft marketing itself as a hybrid between the ATR72 from ATR - Avions de Transport Régional (EVX, Toulouse Blagnac) and the Dash 8-400 from Bombardier Aerospace (BBA, Montréal Trudeau).
