Maiden flight of first production COMAC C919

Following six earlier prototypes of China’s C919 airliner, the seventh example and first production machine made its first flight on 14 May 2022.

The C919, registered B-001J (c/n 10107), took off at 6:52 a.m. (Beijing Time) from Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport and landed safely three hours later, marking a successful test flight.

It is expected that this machine will be delivered to One Two Three Airlines (OTT Airlines), a subsidiary of China Eastern Airlines, headquartered in Shanghai.

The airline is focused on the Yangtze Delta region. It is scheduled to be the first airline to operate the COMAC C919, next to its current fleet of COMAC ARJ21 airliners.

On 1 March 2021, China Eastern ordered 5 C919s, the first to be delivered in 2022, two in 2023, and the final two in 2024.

According to COMAC, they have an impressive orderbook: currently 28 airlines have 815 C919s on order. 

COMAC has also designed a long-range widebody aircraft, the  CR929. This is a dual-aisle airliner jointly developed by China and Russia, which is initially oriented towards the markets in China, Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. 

Photo: COMAC