Two more Chinese airlines have joined China Eastern in taking delivery of Chinese-made COMAC C919 passenger jets.
Air China and China Southern Airlines have both received the aeroplanes at a handover ceremony at COMAC’s factory in Pudong, in Shanghai.
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Each single-aisle passenger formation jet is equipped to carry 192 passengers, along with cabin and flight crews.
Both are expected to fly the aircraft on regional trips within China, and will likely receive second jets before the end of 2024.
COMAC said 1,000 units have been ordered in total, as it attempts to break into the international duopoly of Airbus and Boeing in the passenger jet market.
The narrowbody C919 and the medium-range ARJ21 model were showcased in Singapore earlier this year, before embarking on a tour of Southeast Asia.
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By GlobalDataThe third member of the COMAC family is a widebody jet, the C929, which is currently under development in Pudong.
”The baseline version of the C929 accommodates 280 seats with a range of 12,000 kilometres, effectively meeting the global demand for international and regional air passenger transport,” according to the manufacturer.
Homegrown aviation is one of several development areas seen by the government in Beijing as the key to China’s continued economic and international development. It is expected the Chinese aviation market will double in size over the next 20 years and more than 8,000 planes will be needed to keep up with passenger demand.
