"Flying Phoenix" jetliner to debut nine years after target date

China’s first homemade jetliner, the ARJ21 “Flying Phoenix,” is finally set to make its commercial debut nine years behind schedule due to repeated production setbacks, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a statement from the state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China. “ARJ21 has been a waste of money,” said Keith Crane, an economist at Rand Corp. who has studied China’s aviation sector. “It has provided Comac, which inherited the project, with experience working with Western suppliers and with trying to get an aircraft certified, but those pluses are completely outweighed by the costs of the project.”