The Comac C919 has embarked on its maiden commercial flight with China Eastern Airlines, the type’s launch customer.
The C919 from Comac is part of the efforts undertaken by China to create their aircraft for customers. The C919 and Comac family of jets are a result of years of studying, development, testing, production and more.
Flight MU919 departed from Shanghai Hongqiao and was destined for Beijing Capital International Airport.
Comac’s C919 can seat over 150 passengers and is a twin-engined plane. Comac pits it in a sector with significant competition from established companies. The jet comes equipped with a range of up to 5,555km or 3,452 miles and is their answer to jets produced by Airbus and Boeing through the years.
Comac’s goal is to continue its growth as a manufacturer in the region and have more airlines commit to their family of aircraft. Thus far, Comac aircraft have seen substantial interest from airlines in a market that continues to require additional capacity. If Comac can take airlines’ interest away from Airbus or Boeing, they believe they’ve succeeded.
Hundreds of orders already exist for the C919 that will be gradually delivered. However, Comac’s attempts to get it to grow outside of its region have thus far primarily failed. The make-up of orders for the C919 is for largely state-owned Chinese airlines. These include China Eastern, the launch customer, Air China and many more.
