China’s C919 passenger plane completes inaugural commercial flight from Shanghai to Beijing

Around 130 passengers were aboard the maiden flight, sources with China Eastern Airlines told the Global Times.

“I am so excited to be one of the first passengers to fly on the C919,” a passenger surnamed Shi told the Global Times on Sunday. “I am so proud that China now has such advanced aircraft manufacturing industry.”

The C919’s inaugural flight departed at 10:32 am from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, and landed at Beijing Capital international Airport at 12:31 am, welcomed by plumes of water in a special water-salute ceremony.

“I witnessed the euphoric atmosphere within the flight cabin, and everyone is so excited to get onboard on the plane ,” he said.

The C919 business class and economy class all use a new generation of domestically designed and made cabin seats.

Among them, eight business class seats use an all-aluminum alloy frame structure, with a cradle design, with a backrest that can reach 120 degrees. The distance between the front and rear seats exceeds one meter.

The C919 cabin has a width of 2.25 meters with an aisle height of 1.5 meters, and passengers are provided a comfortable visual space.

According to the China Eastern Airlines’ plan, the first C919 plane will initially operate between Shanghai and Chengdu, capital city of Southwest China’s Sichuan Province, before expanding to fly more routes.

A passenger taking the first commercial flight of C919, China’s self-developed large passenger aircraft, checks in at Hongqiao International Airport in east China’s Shanghai, May 28, 2023. C919 kicked off its first commercial flight from Shanghai to Beijing on Sunday, marking its official entry into the civil aviation market. (Xinhua)

This photo taken on May 28, 2023 shows a C919, China’s self-developed large passenger aircraft, getting ready for its first commercial flight in east China’s Shanghai. C919 kicked off its first commercial flight from Shanghai to Beijing on Sunday, marking its official entry into the civil aviation market. (Xinhua)

The C919 single-aisle aircraft is China’s first self-developed large jet airliner made by Shanghai-headquartered Comac (Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China), in accordance with international airworthiness standards and Comac owns independent intellectual property rights.

The C919 project was kicked off in 2007 and completed its first test flight in 2017. On September 29, 2022, it obtained the Type Certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) — the country’s aviation sector regulator.

On December 9 of 2022, China Eastern Airlines, the first carrier to obtain the aircraft, officially received the world’s first C919 which is numbered B-919A from Comac.

The aircraft maker said in January this year that the company expects to reach an annual production capacity of 150 C919 planes within five years, and the company has already received more than 1,200 orders. (Global Times)