China Eastern Airlines Corp. became the first recipient of the Chinese-made C919 passenger jet Friday, a milestone in the country’s aviation ambitions as it bids to compete with aircraft made by Airbus SE and Boeing Co, reports Bloomberg.
The single-aisle plane was delivered to China Eastern at Pudong International Airport in Shanghai and then made a short flight to the city’s Hongqiao Airport, landing at midday.
The C919, built by Commercial Aircraft Corp of China, is one of five ordered by China Eastern to be delivered through 2023. It is due to start flying commercially next spring. Comac, as the manufacturer is known, added 300 new orders in November from undisclosed buyers, on top of 815 already booked for the narrowbody, mostly from Chinese lessors.