The first commercial flight of the China-made C919 narrow-body jet took place on May 28, marking a much-anticipated milestone in Beijing’s push to break the duopoly of Boeing and Airbus in global airplane production. China Eastern Airlines flight MU9191 flew from Shanghai to Beijing in the morning on the country’s busiest domestic-flight route, returning to Shanghai in the afternoon. Some 130 passengers traveled on the C919's maiden flight.
The flights come as China’s aviation market has reopened in recent months following more than three years of Covid-19 outbreaks, which had led to numerous airport shutdowns and domestic and international flight cancellations. Domestic flights have since been recovering, though the pace has been slower for international flights, according to OAG, a flight-data and analytics company.
The C919 was certified in September by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) after more than 14 years of development. The passenger jet was delivered to China Eastern Airlines in December, when the Chinese carrier began conducting a total of 100 hours of test flights.
Wu Guanghui, Chief Designer of the C919 and Chief Scientist at Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC), said the commercial flight was the fulfillment of a dream. “COMAC will work on delivery of more jets to our clients to ensure more people can take our homegrown aircraft,” he was quoted as saying. The C919 flight had a configuration of 164 seats, including eight in business class and 156 in economy class.
Aviation Industry Analyst Lin Zhijie said the C919 is offering a new option in the global aircraft market. “The jet is comparable to the Airbus A320 and the Boeing B737 series and is expected to break the duopoly of Boeing and Airbus, which will help promote benign competition and the healthy development of the world’s civil aviation market,” Lin said. The first C919 aircraft was delivered to China Eastern Airlines in Shanghai on December 9, 2022, by its manufacturer. The C919 made its first experimental flight in 2017. A second C919 jet is scheduled to be delivered in mid-June. China Eastern will receive a total of three C919 aircraft over the next two years.
Starting on May 29, China Eastern started using the C919 on the regular Shanghai to Chengdu air route. Comac had received orders for 1,035 C919 jets from 32 customers by the end of last year. China's government hopes that the C919 will gain a 10% domestic market share by 2025.
"On the occasion of the successful commercial maiden flight of C919 today, we would like to extend our sincere congratulations to China Eastern Airlines and COMAC," Boeing said on its official WeChat account, while Airbus also sent warm congratulations to China Eastern Airlines on successfully completing the C919's first commercial flight.
A market forecast report released by COMAC in 2021 predicted that China's aviation market will receive 9,084 passenger aircraft with more than 50 seats over the next 20 years, with a value of about USD1.4 trillion. It is widely believed that a trillion-dollar level aircraft industry chain is gaining momentum with the commercialization of the C919.
This overview is based on reports by the South China Morning Post, the Global Times and the China Daily.
