Following 16 years of development and six years of rigorous flight testing, China’s first narrowbody jet, the C919, entered commercial service on May 28, marking the beginning of a new era for China’s aerospace industry.
Operated by launch customer China Eastern Airlines, flight MU9191, carrying some 130 passengers, departed Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport at 10:33 a.m. local time and arrived at Beijing Capital International Airport at 12:31 p.m. to a water cannon salute. Regular C919 service between Shanghai and Chengdu Tianfu International Airport commenced on May 29. Both Boeing and Airbus congratulated Comac on the milestone via social media.
Comac delivered the first production C919 jetliner to China Eastern in early December 2022 and began a 100-hour proving flight campaign shortly thereafter. The airline tentatively had set February 28 for the first revenue flight but an unexplained switch to Airbus A320 service on the route ended any prospects of a spring launch.
According to its 2022 annual results, the airline will take delivery of four C919s this year and four more in 2024 and will accept 18 ARJ21-700 aircraft over the same period.
The C919 also has found a solid customer in Hainan Airlines Holding and its two subsidiaries, Urumqi Air and Suparna Airlines. On April 27, parent company HNA Aviation Group inked a firm order for 60 C919 aircraft and an intended order for 40 ARJ21 regional jets.
A Shanghai Stock Exchange filing revealed Urumqi Air will become the group’s first C919 operator, taking 30 of the type. Comac said it will provide various services, including financing and maintenance support, while the airline enjoys certain preferential policies to buoy commercial operations. The filing did not specify a delivery date but did state that C919s would gradually arrive according to Urumqi Air’s development needs. The two sides now are negotiating a framework agreement before providing further disclosure.
Because the C919 lacks EASA and FAA approval, its market remains limited to jurisdictions within the purview of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). However, according to a source familiar with Comac’s plans, EASA certification efforts for the C919 have been ongoing since July 2016. In 2020, the EU-China Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement further harmonized certification standards between the two sides.
To facilitate communications and technical verification, Comac plans to position support engineers at EASA headquarters, the source said, adding that amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and China, Comac would not seek FAA Part 25 certification.
Meanwhile, a newly built $85 million facility in Changsha’s Kaifu district will soon become a major Comac testbed for landing gear. According to a district government statement, the center houses a finished landing gear test rig, a vehicle-mounted stand system, and a ground dynamics simulation platform.
Engineering teams are preparing for a low-speed tire dynamics test for June and a C919 aircraft brake fan cooling test scheduled for December. The facility will partner with Shaanxi Aircraft and the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences’ Rubber Research Institute on research and development (R&D) to expand testing capabilities and national engineering programs, the statement said.
The new test rig sits on 11.3 hectares in the Changsha Jinxia Economic Development Zone (JEDZ)—the logistics backbone of Hunan province. In a bid to expand and diversify aerospace capabilities, the south-central province will now spearhead research and development of domestic aircraft components involving landing gear and wheel and brake systems. The plans involve shifting various development and testing activities from Comac’s Shanghai Aircraft Design and Research Institute to JEDZ; the facility will also run commercial trials to support certification and continued airworthiness processes.
In phase two of the project, the partners plan to develop the remaining 11.6 hectares into an industry incubator for aircraft takeoff and landing systems. Engineering teams will also focus on transforming R&D results into practical applications. Once complete, the JEZD’s testbed will serve as a full-suite technology assessment center, capable of developing new brake technologies as part of an aircraft’s continuous development cycle; the facility will also offer opportunities to evaluate various runway contamination and impact scenarios for overrun protection and excursion mitigation among a slew of other research and testing capabilities.