Jul. 2, 2012 (China Knowledge) - ABC Financial Leasing Co Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Agricultural Bank of China<601288><1288>, announced that it had inked an purchase agreement  with Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd or COMAC, a leading aircraft manufacturer in the country, to buy 45 C919 airliners.

This is COMAC’s second C919 order this year. In February 2012, BOC Aviation, a wholly-owned subsidiaries of Bank of China<601988><3988>, ordered 20 units of C919 during the 2012 Singapore Airshow.

The C919 model is a planned family of 168 to 190 seat narrow-body airliners designed and manufactured in China, and is expected to take its first flight in 2014.

As of to date, 12 companies have ordered the C919 aircraft including Air China Ltd<601111><0753>, China Eastern Airlines Co Ltd<600115><0670> and China Southern Airlines Co<600029><1055>.

The first aircraft parts production had started manufacturing last year in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, and the whole production lines for aircraft started this year, said Wu Guanghui, vice general manager of COMAC.

As of today, C919’s total orders amounted to 280 units, sources reported.