The flight marks a milestone in China’s decades-long push into aviation. It is the second Chinese-built commercial aircraft to take to the skies, following the short-haul 90-seat ARJ21, which is used by Chinese airlines and Indonesia’s TransNusa.

The C919 took off from Shanghai's Hongqiao Airport at 10:32 a.m. local time, bound for Beijing Capital Airport. State broadcaster CCTV said the plane was carrying 130 passengers and claimed the flight "arrived smoothly in Beijing" just after 12:30 p.m., about 40 minutes ahead of schedule.

"I'm confident about the plane. The flight was smoother than expected," one of the roughly 130 passengers told CCTV as he disembarked. Passengers were given red boarding passes and a lavish "themed meal" to commemorate the flight.

Also according to CCTV, from Monday, the C919 will operate on China Eastern's familiar route between Shanghai and Chengdu.

The C919 is built by the state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC). COMAC began developing the C919 15 years ago to compete with the single-aisle Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX commercial jets.

Although the jet is assembled in China, it relies heavily on Western parts, including engines and avionics.

The C919 made its maiden flight in 2017 after years of delays and has conducted numerous test flights ahead of its first commercial flight this past Sunday.

COMAC has received about 1,200 orders for the C919, mainly from domestic airlines, according to local media. The plane has yet to be certified by US or European aviation regulators.

COMAC hopes to produce 150 C919s a year within five years. COMAC is also developing the CR929 wide-body jet with two passenger aisles.

Bui Huy (according to CCTV, AFP, DW)