COMAC's C909 regional jet completed 10 years of commercial service on June 28, capping a decade in which China's first domestically developed regional airliner evolved from a delayed program into the country's dominant regional jet.
Originally introduced as the ARJ21, the aircraft entered service with Chengdu Airlines in 2016 after a development program that slipped by about eight years. COMAC renamed the aircraft C909 in late 2024 to align it with the company's growing commercial aircraft family, which also includes the C919 narrowbody and the C929 widebody under development.
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According to COMAC, the fleet has carried more than 37 million passengers over the past decade while operating more than 860 routes linking over 180 cities. The manufacturer says the aircraft now performs more than 500 flights per day and accounts for about 70% of China's regional jet fleet.
The C909 is widely used on regional routes across western China, where lower passenger demand often makes smaller aircraft more suitable than narrowbody jets. Around 70 aircraft operate in Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang, serving more than 460 routes.
Air China C909 (Air China) 
First C909 Medical Aircraft (COMAC) 
Urumqi Air first C909 (COMAC)
The aircraft has also begun expanding beyond China. Operators in Indonesia and Laos already fly the type, while Vietnam's VietJet has announced plans to introduce the aircraft. COMAC says the overseas fleet has carried more than one million passengers on 25 international routes connecting 28 cities.
Based on fleet data compiled by Air Data News, about 187 C909 aircraft have been built and delivered, including test and demonstration aircraft. Air China and China Southern Airlines are currently the largest operators, with 35 aircraft each, followed by launch customer Chengdu Airlines with 31 and China Eastern subsidiary OTT Airlines with 24.
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Unlike most modern regional jets, the C909 traces part of its design heritage to the McDonnell Douglas MD-80, which was assembled in China during the 1980s through a joint venture. The aircraft retains the MD-80's distinctive rear-mounted engines and T-tail configuration, although COMAC describes it as an indigenous design incorporating a new supercritical wing developed with assistance from Ukraine's Antonov.
The C909 is powered by two General Electric CF34-10A engines, from the same engine family used on Embraer E-Jets and Bombardier CRJ regional jets.
The aircraft was conceived to carry between 78 and 90 passengers, placing it in a market segment that has gradually contracted as airlines shifted toward larger single-aisle jets. Even so, the C909 laid much of the industrial groundwork for the C919, which entered commercial service in 2023 and has become COMAC's main challenge to Airbus and Boeing in the domestic Chinese market.
