Home-made C919 carries more than 1 million passenger trips since launch in May 2023

A passenger surnamed Lin, who took a flight from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport to Xi'an Xianyang International Airport, takes a group photo with a model of the C919 as a memento of her trip as the millionth passenger on December 19, 2024. (Photo/Courtesy of China Eastern Airlines)

The home-made C919 aircraft has carried more than one million passenger trips since it was put into commercial operation on May 28, 2023, Chinese planemaker the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), said on Thursday.

On the same day, a passenger surnamed Lin, who took a flight from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport to Xi'an Xianyang International Airport, won a model of the C919 as a memento of her trip as the millionth passenger.

As of December 19, COMAC has delivered a total of 14 C919 aircraft to China Eastern Airlines, Air China, and China Southern Airlines, which have opened a total of 15 routes and serve 10 cities.

China Eastern Airlines, as the world's first user of the C919, operates nine aircraft for 6,240 commercial flights on eight routes, carrying more than 850,000 passenger trips.

Air China operates four routes with the C919, flying from Beijing to Shanghai, Hangzhou, Chengdu, and Wuhan. China Southern Airlines has also opened four routes from Guangzhou to Shanghai, Chengdu, Hangzhou, and Haikou.

In November, China Eastern Airlines completed an engine replacement on the C919 aircraft, which experts noted that the move marks a key step in enhancing Chinese airlines' operational and maintenance capabilities for the aircraft, further advancing the comprehensive commercial deployment of the C919.

Orders for China's domestically-produced C919 and C909 aircraft reached a record 330 in 2024, with nearly 50 units delivered, said Wei Yingbiao, a vice president of COMAC, at a conference on Thursday, news outlet yicai.com reported.

The C919 aircraft is the first jet-type trunk liner independently developed by China in accordance with international airworthiness standards and owning independent intellectual property rights.

It has a layout of 158 to 192 seats and a range of 4,075 to 5,555 kilometers. The first aircraft rolled out on November 2, 2015. On May 5, 2017, the C919 made its first test flight.

To further expand its overseas footprint, COMAC has opened an office in Singapore, and COMAC vows to participate more deeply in the cooperation and development of the global aviation industry and promote innovation and progress in the industry, according to the official website of COMAC on October 28.