China’s C919: maiden commercial flight will span busiest domestic route on Sunday
- From Shanghai to Beijing – journey will mark the culmination of 14 years of home-grown development in China’s bid to compete with Boeing and Airbus
- China Eastern Airlines flight MU9191 comes after 100 hours of test flights since December
China plans to launch the first commercial flight of its C919 narrow-body jet on Sunday, marking a much-anticipated milestone in Beijing’s push to break the duopoly of Boeing and Airbus in global airplane production.
The 10.45am maiden journey, to be operated by China Eastern Airlines as flight number MU9191, will head from Shanghai to Beijing – the country’s busiest domestic-flight route. The plane is expected to land at Beijing Capital Airport at 1.10pm, according to the airline’s schedule.
Later in the afternoon, it will return to Shanghai as flight number MU9192. The trips did not appear to be open for public booking as of Friday afternoon.
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.
What is China’s C919 passenger jet and can it take on Airbus, Boeing?
The trip from Beijing Capital International Airport to Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport remains the busiest domestic airline route in China, according to data from OAG. However, seat capacity on the Guangzhou Baiyuan Airport to Shanghai Hongqiao route is increasing at a faster pace, compared with before the pandemic in 2019, OAG said.
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. Commercial flights were expected to begin in the first half of 2023, according to Chinese state media.
China has lofty ambitions in the commercial aviation market, and the central government has laid out plans for the C919 to gain 10 per cent of the domestic market share by 2025.
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C919 takes off: China shows off its first home-grown passenger jet
Comac said it had received more than 1,200 orders for the C919, according to a report by state media CCTV in January.
China Eastern Airlines said on Thursday that the C919 would be put into “practical operation in the near future”, with Shanghai as the main base for its commercial operation.
On Tuesday, the Shanghai Stamp Collecting Corporation said a promotional stamp would commemorate the C919’s first commercial flight on Sunday.
