On May 28th, the first year of commercial operation of the COMAC C919, the first airliner fully developed in China, will be completed.
The aircraft with capacity for around 170 passengers debuted on a flight between Shanghai and Beijing operated by China Eastern Airlines (CEA), the launch customer for the single-aisle jet.
Until January, the carrier received another four C919s, forming a fleet that is still small, but which is expected to expand in the coming years as China Eastern has a new order for 100 aircraft.
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With five C919s, CEA needs to restrict destinations so as not to compromise its planning. That’s why in May the aircraft only flew to three destinations.
In addition to the daily flight to the capital Beijing, the C919 has four daily flights to Chengdu, in the center of the country and around 1,600 km from Shanghai.
In March, China Eastern debuted another route, to Xi’an, in Shaanxi province, which is considered a major hub in eastern China.
200 firm orders in the recent weeks
All flights with the C919 depart from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, not coincidentally close to the facilities where COMAC assembles the aircraft.
If the C919 is currently an unusual aircraft in Chinese skies compared to the hundreds of Boeing 737s and Airbus A320s that fly in the country, the situation is expected to change in the coming years, as production of the aircraft grows.
In the last few weeks alone, COMAC has reached firm deals for 200 commercial jets with Air China and China Southern Airlines.
