BEIJING: China’s first domestically produced passenger jet made its maiden commercial flight on Sunday, a milestone event in the nation’s decades-long effort to compete with Western rivals in the air.
Beijing hopes the C919 commercial jetliner will challenge foreign models like the Boeing 737 MAX and the Airbus A320, though many of its parts are sourced from abroad.
Its first homegrown jetliner with mass commercial potential would also cut the country’s reliance on foreign technology as ties with the West deteriorate.
“In the future, most passengers will be able to choose to travel by large, domestically produced aircraft,” state broadcaster CCTV said.
China Eastern Airlines flight MU9191 “arrived smoothly” in Beijing just after 12:30 pm, around 40 minutes ahead of schedule, according to CCTV.
The broadcaster had aired footage of the plane rising into the skies above Shanghai Hongqiao Airport on Sunday morning, saying it had 130 passengers on board.
State media footage showed passengers gathering at the sun-drenched Shanghai airfield on Sunday morning to admire the sleek white jet. They then filed into the narrow-body plane which taxied to the runway before taking off.
Passengers received red boarding passes and a sumptuous “themed meal” to commemorate the flight, CCTV reported.
China has invested heavily in the production of the homegrown jet as it seeks to become self-sufficient in key technologies.
The aircraft is manufactured by the state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), but many of its parts – including its engines – are sourced from overseas.
