'Made in China' aircraft received more than 1,000 orders

China Commercial Aircraft Corporation (Comac) said it has received 1,061 orders for C919 aircraft and has delivered 2 aircraft.

This information was stated by Comac Chairman He Dongfeng at the Pujiang Innovation Forum in Shanghai on September 10. This is an aircraft produced by China.

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

In December 2022, Chinese airline China Eastern Airlines became the first customer to receive the C919. This type of aircraft will be put into operation by the airline from the end of May 2023. Two C919s currently fly the Shanghai - Chengdu route.

China Eastern Airlines C919. Photo: China News Service

Beijing hopes the C919 will help China reduce its dependence on foreign technology. The country's government aims for C919 to account for 10% of the domestic market share by 2025.

This aircraft was mentioned by Chinese President Xi Jinping in a 2017 report. He called it the driving force behind China's "new development model" along with other scientific and technical achievements. The C919 also helps put China on the list of few countries that can design and produce their own aircraft, including the US, Russia, Brazil, Canada, UK, France and Germany.

Comac also produced the ARJ21 – the country's first jet aircraft. Currently about 112 ARJ21s are in operation. The number of orders received by Comac for this aircraft is 775.

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

Comac revealed that they currently have many types of aircraft, from small, narrow-body aircraft flying short and medium distances to wide-body aircraft flying long distances. The company is designing the C929 for intercontinental flight, with 250-350 seats and the ability to fly 12,000 km.