Air Central (China) (GI, Zhengzhou) has begun proving flights for its first of fifty ARJ21-700(F)s, B-3388 (msn 109), after conversion at the GAMECO facility at Guangzhou earlier this year, Chinese media have reported.
The aircraft was manufactured as an ARJ21-700 in 2018 and subsequently leased to Chengdu Airlines (EU, Chengdu Shuangliu) for which it operated until September 2021, when it was withdrawn from use and ferried to Nanchang International for storage, and later to Guangzhou. It is the first Chinese manufactured aircraft to enter the Air Central fleet which presently includes five B737-300(F)s, one B737-400(F), five B737-800(BCF)s, and one B747-400FSCD.
According to ch-aviation fleets data, B-3388 is just the second COMAC conversion. B-3329 (msn 112), also ex-Chengdu Airlines passenger stock, recently underwent conversion and is due to be delivered to YTO Cargo Airlines (YG, Hangzhou) this month.
Air Central (China) was rebranded from Longhao Airlines in 2019 and China Central Longhao Airlines earlier this year. The cargo carrier flies to 25 destinations in eight countries from China, including Thailand, Viet Nam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Myanmar. Air Central (China) is a subsidiary of the state-owned Henan Civil Aviation Development Investment Co. and should not be confused with the similarly named Central Airlines (I9, Haikou), which is another Chinese cargo airline.
