ZHUHAI, China, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Chinese planemaker

COMAC has rebranded its ARJ21 regional jet as the C909, aligning

the plane with the state-owned firm's naming convention for its

other models as it seeks to present itself as an alternative to

dominant Western planemakers.

The rebrand, which was unveiled at China's biggest air show in

Zhuhai on Tuesday, features C909 painted in white on a blue

tail.

"After careful consideration, a long gestation and asking

opinions of many involved parties, we chose to use C909 as a new

commercial name to build the brand," Zhang Xiaoguang, COMAC's

marketing director, told reporters.

The C909 has also reduced weight, resistance and noise and

made some improvements in flying costs compared to the

previously marketed ARJ21, staff at COMAC's air show booth told

Reuters.

COMAC has launched the rebrand with the English slogan "Old

friend, New look", and a Chinese slogan that can be translated

as "meeting an old friend for the first time".

COMAC's ARJ21 regional jet was China's first jet

engine-powered plane to reach commercial production, entering

service in 2016.

Signs of the possible new name for the ARJ21 came in mid-October

when one was spotted by aviation enthusiasts at a Chinese

airport with C909 painted on its blue tail.

The tail design and C909 name correspond with the green tail

and white lettering of COMAC's C919 narrow-body jet that has

been in service since 2023, and the red tail of its planned

wide-body C929 which is under design.

The change signals Beijing's growing intention to present

itself as a full-scale alternative to Airbus and Boeing ( BA )

, which are both struggling to keep up with demand.

There are around 124 ARJ21s in operation, according to

ch-aviation data, with various Chinese airlines and also

Indonesian carrier TransNusa, COMAC's only overseas operator so

far.

A sign at its air show booth said COMAC had delivered 150 of

the jets to 11 customers.

Hainan Airlines, said on Monday its low-cost

subsidiary Urumqi Air would order 40 ARJ21-700 jets for delivery

between 2025 and 2032.

Hainan said the basic list price of each ARJ21 is $38

million but substantial discounts will be applied, a process

typical for aircraft purchases.