China's first domestically produced passenger plane makes commercial flight

The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) began developing the C919 15 years ago and President Xi Jinping has hailed the project as one of China's finest innovations.

The C919 took off from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport in Shanghai, where both COMAC and China Eastern Airlines are headquartered, before 10:32 a.m. local time on May 28, heading to Beijing Capital Airport, according to flight tracking app Variflight.

After a flight to Beijing lasting nearly 2.5 hours and a return journey of 1 hour and 40 minutes, the plane is scheduled to fly back to Shanghai. The C919 will make a longer flight to the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu on May 29 and return.

A C919 makes its first commercial flight from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport in Shanghai on May 28.

The C919 was officially handed over to China Eastern Airlines in a ceremony at the airport in Shanghai on December 9, 2022, according to AFP.

The C919 is China's first domestically produced narrow-body aircraft, with a capacity of 164 passengers. Beijing hopes the C919 will challenge foreign aircraft such as the Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus A320, although most of the C919's components are sourced from abroad.

COMAC said at an air show in November 2022 that it had placed orders for 300 C919s. However, the company did not clarify whether the orders were confirmed and did not give details on the value of the deals or delivery dates.

If the above orders are confirmed, the number of C919 aircraft ordered will reach more than 1,100, based on figures from previous COMAC reports.

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