SINGAPORE, Feb 20 (Reuters) – China’s Tibet Airlines on Tuesday finalised an order for 40 C919 and 10 ARJ21 jets from COMAC designed to be suitable for high-altitude plateaus, becoming the launch customer for a new variant the Chinese state-owned planemaker is developing.

The two companies signed the deal on the sidelines of the biennial commercial and defence-focused Singapore Airshow.

The announcement came after Tibet Airlines and COMAC in December announced that they would jointly research a shortened variant of the C919 that will seat 140-160 passengers and can take off and land at high-altitude airports.

Chinese state-backed Henan Civil Aviation Development and Investment Group on Tuesday also signed an agreement with COMAC for six models derived from the smaller ARJ21 regional jet specialised for firefighting, medical services and emergency management.

Image Tibet Airlines