Five years ago, the C919 first took to the skies from Shanghai’s Pudong Airport. It took eight years to develop the first passenger jet developed in China. Last Friday, the world’s first C919 aircraft, registration number B-919A, was delivered to launch customer China Eastern Airlines (CEA). The state-owned aircraft manufacturer Comac wants to take market share with the aircraft from the American and European competition, which has been overwhelming up to now. The medium-haul jet with only one aisle between the rows of seats is aimed at the aircraft segment with the highest sales, which has so far been dominated by the Airbus A320 and the Boeing 737.
The aircraft, which is characterized by its low noise level, has 164 seats, eight of which belong to Business Class. In Economy Class, the middle seat in each three-seat row is 1.5 centimeters wider than the adjacent seats. The aircraft has an aisle height of 2.25 meters and has an efficient air filtration system and lighting tailored to the passengers.
The aircraft has an advanced propulsion system, a range of 4075 kilometers and features low noise, lower carbon emissions and higher fuel efficiency, according to China Eastern Airlines. “On the front of the delivered aircraft is a Chinese seal that reads ‘The world’s first C919’ in Chinese,” a CEA spokeswoman said.
The passenger jet is expected to go into service in spring 2023.
Airbus board chairman René Obermann warned in June of competition from China. In an interview with “Handelsblatt”, he said that in telecommunications, “Chinese competitors, especially Huawei, have more or less conquered the global industry within a decade. You may call it paranoia, but I’m always worried, important technologies and miss trends.” Aviation is increasingly being influenced by digital technologies and the entry of new competitors into the market, said Obermann.
However, according to a report, analysts at Jefferies assume that Comac will produce around 25 aircraft annually by 2030, a fraction of the production of the two most important western aircraft manufacturers. According to the aircraft manufacturer, 815 orders from 28 customers have already been received for the new machine.
Watch the video: For many years, Airbus and Boeing have been the sole providers of large commercial aircraft. But China’s state-owned company Comac wants to break the duopoly: with the C919. Now the jet took off for the first time.
Sources: China Eastern Airlines, with material from Reuters and DPA
