China Eastern Airlines (CEA) completed the first commercial flight on Wednesday, August 2, with the COMAC C919 jet, registration B-919C.
The aircraft is the second unit delivered by the Chinese state-owned manufacturer to the airline, the launch customer of the model. The debut flight of the C919 took place between Shanghai (Hongqiao) and Chengdu (Tianfu) at 9 am (local time).
Unlike the first aircraft delivered, the second series production C919 took less than 50 days between arrival at CEA and the start of commercial flights, an indication that COMAC is managing to advance in reliability and availability of the new jet.
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China Eastern Airlines has a firm order for five C919s, but is sure to expand its fleet as the 164-seat jet flies more frequently.
Launched in 2008, the C919 is the most ambitious passenger aircraft ever developed in China. After a long and tortuous period of development and testing, the aircraft obtained the Type Certificate from the CAAC, the Chinese civil aviation authority, in 2022.
Equipped with Leap 1-C turbofans, supplied by CFM, and with several Western components, the C919 poses as a tough competitor for the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 MAX.
The reason does not involve technology itself, as the two traditional models are more advanced and efficient, but rather the low acquisition cost and, above all, the determination of the Chinese government to make the aircraft widely used by airlines in the country.
