World
China's Domestically Developed Passenger Jet C919 Completes Maiden Commercial Flight From Shanghai To Beijing
- In a historic moment for China's aviation manufacturing industry, the country's first domestically developed narrow-body passenger jet – the C919 – completed its inaugural commercial flight from Shanghai to Beijing on Sunday (May 28).
C919
In a significant milestone for China's aviation manufacturing industry seeking to compete with global players such as Boeing and Airbus, the country's first domestically developed narrow-body passenger jet – the C919 – completed its inaugural commercial flight from Shanghai to Beijing on Sunday (May 28).
The C919's maiden flight departed at 10:32 am from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport and landed at Beijing Capital international Airport at 12:31 pm, where it was welcomed with a special water-salute ceremony.
The flight, codenamed MU9191 was operated by China Eastern Airlines, and carried around 130 passengers.
The two-hour commercial flight is seen as a culmination of 16 years of sustained research and development as China aims to reduce dependence on foreign technologies amid a bitter ongoing rivalry with the US-led West.
The C919 project was launched in 2007 as part of the country's domestic aircraft development programme. It completed its first test flight in 2017.
In September 2022, the C919 was cleared by China’s aviation regulator to run commercial passenger operations, with a production certificate issues two months later.
Here are major features of C919:
C919 is designed to have the same level of specifications as the popular Airbus A320 and Boeing 737.
Both the business and economy class on the C919 use a new generation of domestically designed and produced cabin seats.
The C919 cabin has a width of 2.25 meters, and the middle seat in the economy class triple-seat is 1.5cm wider than the two seats on the end, providing passengers more comfort.
The eight business class seats use an all-aluminum alloy frame structure with a cradle design and a backrest that can reach 120 degrees. The distance between the front and rear seats exceeds 1 meter.
In December 2022, the first C919 was delivered to China Eastern, which later carried out about 200 hours of test flights.
C919 jets would be used by China Eastern for domestic flights between major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Kunming, Xi'an, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Shenzhen,
China Eastern has also set up special teams including cabin services to ensure security and guarantee services.
