The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) delivered its fifth domestically developed C919 passenger plane to China Eastern Airlines for commercial operation on Saturday.
The delivery was completed by a short flight in the morning from the Shanghai Pudong International Airport to the Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport.
Launching its maiden experimental flight in 2017, the first-ever C919 was delivered to its first global customer China Eastern Airlines in Shanghai on Dec 9, 2022, by its manufacturer Commercial Aircraft Corp of China. After a successful maiden commercial flight conducted between Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport and the Beijing Capital International Airport on May 28, 2023, the first C919 is currently serving travelers between Shanghai and Chengdu along with the second C919.
In September 2023, China Eastern Airlines purchased 100 more C919 planes from COMAC, the largest order for the jet. The planes will be delivered in batches from 2024 to 2031.
(Reported by Yin Liqin, Xu Bingnan; Edited by Zhou Jing)