China on Friday declared the delivery of its 1st domestically produced passenger jet, with the aircraft expected to make its commercial debut early next year.
Beijing expects the C919 commercial jetliner to challenge foreign models like the Boeing 737 MAX & the Airbus A320, though most of its parts are from abroad.
China Eastern Airlines
The 1st model of the narrow-body jet, which seats 164 passengers, was formally handed over to China Eastern Airlines during a ceremony at the Pudong International Airport in Shanghai. China Eastern Airlines is the 1st customer to receive the C919, which was designed to compete with Boeing’s 737 and Airbus’ A320.
The C919 is 1 of 5 ordered aircraft by China Eastern Airlines to be delivered through 2023. A report in Bloomberg stated that it is due to begin flying commercially next spring.
The move marked “an important milestone” in the journey of China’s aircraft industry, state broadcaster CCTV told.
Footage broadcast Friday by CCTV showed the jet bearing the China Eastern insignia standing on a rainswept airfield and provided a glimpse inside the aircraft’s cabin.
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Commercial Aircraft Corp of China
The state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC) passed the airline a “commemorative key to the world’s 1st C919,” CCTV reported.
Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC) told at an airshow last month that it had secured orders for 300 C919s, but did not clarify whether the orders were completely confirmed and gave no details about the value of the agreements or delivery dates.
But if the orders go through, they would take the number of known deals for the C919 to over 1,100, based on figures from previous Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC) statements.
local media previously reported that 4 aircraft were expected to be delivered to China Eastern –- the country’s 2nd-largest carrier by passenger numbers –- by the end of December 2022 before going into operation in the 1st quarter of the next year 2023.
China sealed an agreement for Airbus jets worth $17 billion earlier this year, and the company started producing its A321 model in the northeastern city of Tianjin last month in November.
The Boeing 737 MAX has been grounded in China since 2019 after 2 fatal crashes. However, the aerospace giant stated in July that it may be approved for delivery by Chinese regulators current year.
But lingering US-China trade tensions and China’s worst commercial air disaster earlier this year involving a Boeing 737-800 have slowed progress.
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