The Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC) Thursday delivered the second ARJ21-700, the country's first indigenously designed regional jet, to launch customer Chengdu Airlines.

Different from the 90 all-economy seats on its first ARJ21 regional jet, Chengdu Airlines' 2nd ARJ21 (Registration B-3322) features a two-class configuration with 78 seats, including 8 first class seats.

As of September 28, Chengdu Airlines' ARJ21 aircraft has operated 70 flights with an average passenger load factor of 90% since its inaugural revenue flight on June 28, 2016.

As the launch customer of the ARJ21, the Chengdu-based carrier received the first of 30 ARJ21-700 aircraft, Registration B-3321, on November 29, 2015. The regional carrier will take delivery of five ARJ21-700s by the end of this year, including two 90-seat aircraft and three 78-seat ones. All 30 ARJ21s for delivery will be completed within next five to six years.

The regional carrier is the sole airline operating the aircraft type, serving Chengdu-Shanghai Hongqiao route. The new regional jet will be initially deployed on the same route before serving new market, Chengdu Airlines said.

Chengdu Airlines plans to fly first five ARJ21s on seven domestic routes from Chengdu to Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Xi'an, Nanjing and Guiyang, to ensure it can handle safe and reliable operations, as well as to build customer awareness of the indigenous aircraft.