China Southern Airlines' C919 to connect Haikou

A C919 aircraft is seen during an air show in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, in November. (YIN GANG/FOR CHINA DAILY)

China's domestically developed C919 aircraft will be used to operate commercial flights connecting Guangzhou, Guangdong province with Haikou, Hainan province, starting Wednesday, the first time that the jetliner will operate in Hainan, as the C919 continues to speed up its commercialization process.

Operated by Guangzhou-based China Southern Airlines, Haikou will become the carrier's fifth destination for the aircraft model, following Guangzhou, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Zhejiang province and Chengdu, Sichuan province, and it is expected to inject new vitality into Hainan's air traffic, the carrier said.

The cabin of China Southern's C919 aircraft has a three-class layout, including business class, premium economy class and economy class, with a total of 164 seats. China Southern said it would explore more destinations based on the delivery status of the C919 aircraft, and further enrich the network.

The single-aisle C919 jetliner, comparable with the narrow-body Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 series, was put into commercial use in 2023. So far, a total of 14 aircraft have been delivered to three State-owned airlines for commercial operation.

"The importance of the C919 for the civil aviation sector lies in providing airlines with a third option besides Boeing and Airbus. The successful development and operation of the C919 has broken the duopoly of Boeing and Airbus," said Lin Zhijie, a civil aviation industry analyst.

"The model's significance for China's high-end manufacturing industry is more profound. As a leader in the high-end manufacturing industry, it will help drive breakthroughs in a group of cutting-edge manufacturing technologies," Lin said.

He added that several breakthroughs will be required for the C919 aircraft's future entry into the international market and shaping a balanced situation among the three major aircraft manufacturers.

These include getting airworthiness certificates from the United States and Europe, a ramp-up of production capacity by Commercial Aircraft Corp of China — the manufacturer of the C919 — a record of safe operations, and improvement of economic performance.

Domestic carriers have sped up the process of using the C919 to operate across more routes.

Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines has introduced nine C919 aircraft. On Dec 3, the latest aircraft delivered to the carrier was put into use for a flight between Shanghai and Chongqing. It was the C919 aircraft's first commercial flight to Chongqing, and the flight is being operated daily.

So far, China Eastern has put the C919 aircraft on eight commercial routes, including a new route that connects Shanghai and Wuhan, Hubei province. Such a trend has expanded the commercial fleet size of the C919, and indicates China Eastern's determination to promote the use of the model, it said.

As temperatures drop across a large part of China and amid rain and snowy weather, consumers have shown increased demand to travel to the south, driving bookings of flight tickets and hotels.

Since late November, bookings for tourism products related to escaping the cold have increased significantly, according to Tuniu Corp, a Nanjing, Jiangsu province-based online travel agency.

"Guangzhou and Zhuhai in Guangdong province; Sanya, Hainan province; Xishuangbanna Dai autonomous prefecture, Yunnan province; and Chongqing, have been listed as some of the most popular domestic destinations for avoiding the cold weather," said Qiao Chengwei, director of domestic tourism business at Tuniu.