This information was stated by Comac Chairman He Dongfeng at the Pujiang Innovation Forum in Shanghai on September 10. This is a Chinese-made aircraft.

After 14 years of development, the Comac C919 was certified by China at the end of September 2022. This is a narrow-body aircraft model, with a capacity of 158-169 passengers and a range of more than 5,500 km. The C919 will compete with the Boeing 737 and Airbus 320.

In December 2022, China Eastern Airlines became the first customer to receive the C919. The aircraft was put into operation by the airline in late May 2023. Two C919s currently fly the Shanghai-Chengdu route.

Beijing hopes the C919 will help reduce China's dependence on foreign technology. The government has set a target of the C919 taking 10% of the domestic market share by 2025.

The aircraft was mentioned by Chinese President Xi Jinping in his 2017 report, calling it a driving force behind China's "new development model" along with other scientific and technological achievements. The C919 also puts China in the small group of countries that can design and manufacture their own aircraft, including the US, Russia, Brazil, Canada, the UK, France and Germany.

Comac also manufactures the ARJ21 – the country’s first jetliner. There are currently about 112 ARJ21s in service, with Comac having orders for 775.

Indonesia is the first international customer for the ARJ21. He said the aircraft not only operates within Indonesia, but also flies internationally, to Malaysia and Singapore. To date, the ARJ21 has carried 8.6 million passengers.

Comac revealed that it currently has a wide range of aircraft, from small, narrow-body aircraft for short and medium-haul flights to wide-body aircraft for long-haul flights. The company is designing the C929 for intercontinental flights, with 250-350 seats and a range of 12,000 km.

Ha Thu (according to CGTN, SCMP)