“China’s First Domestic Passenger Jet Takes Off: C919 from Commercial Airlines of China (Comac)”

In China, the first domestic passenger jet has had its baptism of fire. State television showed the aircraft, the C919, taking off from Shanghai for its first commercial flight to Beijing.

The aircraft was built by the Commercial Airlines of China (Comac). China wants to compete with Airbus and Boeing, which dominate the market. The Airbus A320 and the Boeing 737 in particular are now used for domestic and medium-haul flights.

The aircraft, with 164 seats, is largely dependent on Western technology, such as engines and electronic systems. The parts mainly come from Europe and the US. The C919 has been worked on for sixteen years.

The first flight, with about 130 paying passengers on board, took almost two hours and the return flight to Shanghai is also scheduled for today, the China Daily newspaper reports. On the side was the text: “The first C919 in the world”.

Chinese carrier China Eastern Airline has ordered five C919s from Comac, which plans to build 150 a year over the next five years. According to the company, 1200 orders have already been placed, but in most cases it would still be letters of intent from domestic buyers.