First Flight: C919 – First commercial flight of China’s answer to Airbus and Boeing

class=”sc-29f61514-0 kHgAwW”>

Following the end of the Covid pandemic, air travel has rebounded strongly, with growth forecast for the coming decades. The Chinese also want to get a share of this cake. China’s first domestic passenger plane made its maiden flight on Sunday. The first two-hour commercial flight of the China Eastern MU9191 from Shanghai to Beijing went smoothly.

The Chinese not only want to stimulate the international automotive market, but also want to become a global player in international air traffic. For now, the new narrow-body C919 aims to reduce dependence on foreign aircraft in the aviation industry and encourage domestic production.

With a range of up to 5555 kilometers, the C919 can compete with the world’s two largest aircraft manufacturers, Airbus and Boeing. Its direct competitors are the A320 and B737 narrow-body jets operating on domestic and regional international routes.

More than 1000 orders already

Built by Comac (Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China), the twin-engine C919 has been in development for 16 years. It has an aisle with 164 seats and two classes, Business and Economy. According to CNN, 1,035 orders have been received for the aircraft by the end of 2022. Comac wants to deliver 150 machines per year.

Comac designed most of the aircraft’s elements, such as the nose, fuselage, outer wings, vertical stabilizer and horizontal stabilizer. Western companies had to be consulted for the development of some components. A US-French consortium developed the Leap-1C engines. (cut)

Source :Blick