After years of development and testing, China's first homemade passenger jet is ready to make its debut commercial flight. The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), which built the C919, delivered the first model to China Eastern Airlines in December 2022. Now, the airline will be the launch customer for the narrow-body aircraft.
Scheduled to depart from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport at 10:45 a.m. local time on Sunday, May 28, flight MU 9191 will arrive at Beijing Capital International Airport at 1:10 p.m. The airline plans to select passengers through a lottery from those who applied to board the inaugural flight.
The C919 has a range of up to 5,555 kilometers (3,452 miles), and it will compete with Airbus' A320 and Boeing's B737 narrowbody jets, which are primarily used for domestic and regional international flights. The airplane features a two-class cabin configuration with 164 seats, divided between business and economy classes.
COMAC designed several major elements of the C919, including the nose, fuselage, outer wing, vertical stabilizer, and horizontal stabilizer. However, the company partnered with Western firms to produce some components. The aircraft's LEAP-1C engines, for example, were created by CFM International, a joint venture between General Electric and French high-tech industrial group Safran.
As of the end of 2022, the C919 had received 1,035 orders from 32 clients, according to the 2022 Shanghai Science and Technology Progress Report. The jet marks China's entry into the commercial aviation industry and will directly challenge the dominant manufacturers Airbus and Boeing.