Images show China’s COMAC ARJ21 regional jet is painted with the C909 logo

(Reuters) – Chinese aircraft maker COMAC has painted one of its ARJ21 regional jets with C909 branding, in line with the manufacturer’s naming conventions for its other models, according to photos posted on aviation enthusiast forums and Chinese social media.

Although largely symbolic, a possible renaming ahead of China’s flagship air show in Zhuhai next month signals Beijing’s growing intention to present itself as a fully-fledged alternative to Western aircraft giants Airbus and Boeing.

An ARJ21 aircraft with “C909” written on its blue tail was photographed at Shanghai Pudong Airport on Sunday by two users of aircraft-spotting website jetphotos.com and one user of planespotters.net, with additional images appearing on a Chinese social media site media site Weibo on Monday.

Reuters could not independently verify the photos. COMAC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The ARJ21 entered service in 2016 and is operated by various Chinese airlines and Indonesian airline TransNusa. But market analysts say the regional jet, China’s first aircraft to be commercially produced, remains uncompetitive globally.

The next COMAC aircraft, the single-aisle C919, entered service in 2023, and the aircraft manufacturer has announced it will design a twin-aisle aircraft called the C929. The company has also hinted at an even larger C939 in the future.

The C929 was renamed from the CR929 in 2023 after Russia left a Sino-Russian joint venture for development.

The photographed aircraft, registration number B-099A and manufacturing serial number 10156, belongs to COMAC and is registered as an ARJ21 test flight aircraft, according to tracking data from Flightradar24.

On Monday, it appeared to conduct a test flight from Shanghai Pudong Airport, Flightradar24 shows.

In the International Civil Aviation Organization’s aircraft type designation database, COMAC’s regional jet is still listed as ARJ21. ICAO did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The practice of renaming models to create a single brand is common in aviation. Airbus renamed Bombardier’s CSeries the A220 in 2018 after purchasing the program.

COMAC has increased its sales and production plans this year and marketed its aircraft outside of China. However, industry sources warn that COMAC is far from gaining traction internationally, especially without benchmark certifications from the EU – which COMAC is seeking for the C919 – or the US

(Reporting by Lisa Barrington in Seoul, Sophie Yu in Beijing and Tim Hepher in Paris; Editing by Jamie Freed)