China Eastern Airlines has become the first customer to take delivery of the COMAC C919 airliner.
At a ceremony in Shanghai, the first aircraft – one of an initial batch of five destined for the airline – made a celebratory flight between Pudong and Hongqiao airports. It was celebrated with a water cannon salute upon arrival at the airport which will serve as its base, operating domestic services.
The Chinese-built jet has been in development for a number of years, and hopes to be a challenger to the dominance of the Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 Max families, particularly with airlines based in China itself.
It features 164 seats in a two-class cabin, with a 3-3 configuration in economy class and slightly wider middle seat to provide more comfort.
The C919 has a range of 2,200 nautical miles.
✈️Get to know #CEAir’s new aircraft—#C919! ✈️
Welcome aboard China Eastern Airlines! C919 is looking forward to meeting U up in the air! #MeetUinC919 pic.twitter.com/0LGMN5flON— China Eastern Airlines (@CEAirglobal) December 9, 2022
Despite its ambitions to challenge Western manufacturers, COMAC only plans to built around 25 C919 aircraft per year by 2030, which is fewer than Airbus and Boeing produce per month.
Around 300 C919 aircraft orders have been received so far.
