Photos from Comac
After 15 years, the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China’s C919 narrow-body passenger jet flew its maiden commercial flight. This is the first jet-type trunk liner independently developed by China by international airworthiness standards as well as owning independent intellectual property rights.
The C919 has a layout of 158 to 192 seats, a range of about 2,532-3,351 miles and the first rolled out on November 2nd, 2015. The first test flight was on May 5, 2017 and the first commercial flight was on Sunday. The plane flew from Shanghai to Beijing in its first introduction to the commercial market. The flight was operated by China Eastern Airlines, taking off as MU9191 on Sunday morning from the Shangai Hongqiao International Airport with 128 passengers on board. A water salute awaited the C919 when it landed at the Beijing Capital International Airport that afternoon.
“The first commercial flight is a coming-of-age ceremony of the new aircraft, and C919 will get better and better if it stands the test of the market,” said Zhang Xiaoguang, director of the marketing and sales department of COMAC.
The original project was launched in 2007 and Comac was formed in May 2008. The C919 was announced in January 2009 and according to South China Morning Post, it was originally expected to have its first flight in 2014 and deliveries beginning in 2016. The first model was unveiled at the Asian Aerospace Expo in Hong Kong in September 2009. It was confirmed in December 2009 that the engine supplier, CFM International was selected to supply the LEAP engine to the C919. CFM International is a joint venture between GE Aviation in the U.S. and Safran Aircraft Engines in France.
The application for a type certificate was accepted by the Civil Aviation Administration of China in December 2010 and progress was going according to plan in 2012, with hundreds of orders already placed. The maiden flight was delayed in October 2013, pushing the first flight until 2015 and deliveries until 2017 or 2018. The flight was delayed again in May 2015 for one year and deliveries were postponed for two years.
Comac unveiled the jet in November 2015 and the first customer was announced one year later. The maiden flight was made in May 2017 and in October of that year the FAA and CAAC agreed to recognize each other’s regulatory systems. However, the U.S. government included Comac on a military blacklist in January 2021, banning U.S. investment, which was adjusted and Comac was removed in November 2021.
The C919 received its type certificate from CAAC in September 2022 and that December the first C919 jet was delivered after 100 hours of test flights. Now, the culmination of 15 years of work has been achieved, with the first commercial flight completed and with it, the C919’s introduction to the civil aviation market. South China Morning Post said the development was due to China’s desire to reduce its dependence on foreign technologies, “amid a bitter rivalry with the U.S.-led West.
While most of the development has been designed and manufactured in China, some key components like the engine are still sourced from the West, according to AP News. This single-aisle plane is a direct challenge to popular aircraft like the Airbus A320 and the Boeing B737 jet. South China Morning Post notes that the plane is about 127 feet, about 39 feet high, and features eight business and 156 economy class seats. There were three pilots on the inaugural flight and the plane can reportedly cruise at a speed of 0.78 Mach, or 595 mph.
Comac purportedly plans to build 150 C919 planes each year for the next five years, according to AP News. The first customer, China Eastern Airlines, is under contract to buy five. So far, over 1,200 C919 jetliners have been ordered.
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