The Chinese airline China Eastern Airlines has received a locally manufactured aircraft, the Comac C919. This expedition is a world first.
Launch Cnn, Friday (9/12/2022), the delivery of the world’s first C919 aircraft took place this Friday in Shanghai. The plane took off for 15 minutes to mark the historic moment.
The Comac C919 is a rival to the Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX single-aisle aircraft families. The aircraft is expected to make its first commercial flight next spring.
The Comac C919 aircraft passed certification for safe operation in September and mass production in November.
The aircraft delivered to China Eastern seated 164 and was painted with “the world’s first C919” on the side in both Chinese and English. Its maiden route was between Shanghai and Beijing.
China Eastern expects to receive four more Comac C919 units in the next two years. The plan lags behind the previous plan, meaning four aircraft will be delivered next year.
The ambition to make narrow-body aircraft in China has increased in recent years. It happened in the midst of a conflict with the United States that ranged over trade and technology.
This has made China increasingly concerned about its over-reliance on Airbus and Boeing. So far COMAC has not commented.
Commercial Aviation Corp of China (COMAC) is expected to produce about 25 C919s annually by 2030, far below the current narrowbody monthly production rate of its competitors.
The Comac C919 currently relies heavily on Western components, including engines and flight control systems, from companies such as GE, Safran and Honeywell International.
China is looking to increase the rate of domestic deliveries in C919. A reciprocating engine called the CJ-1000A is also under development.
Watch a video “Victims not found, investigation in East China faces difficulties“
[Gambas:Video 20detik]
(msl/fem)
