Two Chinese airlines receive first C919 aircraft, marking a new phase of multi-user operation of the China-made jet

Two Chinese airlines, Air China - the country's flag carrier  - and China Southern Airlines, welcomed their first China-built large passenger aircraft C919 in Shanghai on Wednesday, marking a new phase of multi-user operation for the C919 jet.

The deliveries came after more than one year's operation by China Eastern Airlines, the first global customer for the aircraft. 

Chinese experts said that the mass deliveries on Wednesday represented a milestone for the large-scale market operation of China's self-developed large passenger aircraft C919, and it will also help the aircraft win more market share in the Chinese aviation sector.

The hangar in Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), the manufacturer of C919, in Shanghai was filled with joyful atmosphere on Wednesday night, with people from across the country attending the event. A red screen was set in front of the hall, with the two airlines' logos on either side of the screen.

As the hangar door slowly opened, the first Air China C919 aircraft painted with the Five-Star Red Flag, China's national flag, and the first C919 aircraft of China Southern Airlines painted with red kapok appeared on the same stage. The deliveries mean that the C919 has entered a new stage of multi-carriers' operation. The C919 will operate more routes and cover more areas, and will bring more vitality to China's civil aviation and even global civil aviation, He Dongfeng, chairman and Party chief of COMAC, said at the ceremony.

Up to now, a total of 9 C919 aircraft have been delivered to customers. Among them, the C919 aircraft of China Eastern Airlines, the first user, has been operating smoothly for 15 consecutive months since its first commercial flight, flying five scheduled routes, and has carried out more than 3,600 commercial flights and 10,000 flight hours.

If the past year of China Eastern's C919 flights was considered an initial trial operation, the latest deliveries indicated that the C919 is now ready for full-scale commercial operations and will soon be fully integrated into the domestic civil aviation market, Lin Zhijie, an independent market watcher, said on Wednesday. 

Following the twin deliveries of the C919, Darren Hulst, Boeing vice president of commercial marketing, said that it is a good thing to have market competition, adding that the big market has room for multiple players. 

The C919 is a large civilian aircraft developed in accordance with international civilian aviation regulations and with independent intellectual property rights, and it is regarded as a model to grab a share of the global civilian aviation market dominated by Boeing and Airbus. Over the past year, the aircraft began flying routes such as the one between Shanghai and Beijing, operating across the Chinese Lunar New Year travel rush, and also debuted at the Singapore Airshow. 

As the first global customer of C919, China Eastern received its seventh C919 plane in July. Currently, China Eastern's C919 fleet has completed more than 3,000 flights, facilitating more than 400,000 passenger trips, according to data China Eastern shared with the Global Times. 

It is only a matter of time before giants like Air China and China Southern Airlines choose the C919 aircraft, and personally, I think that time is coming very quickly, said Wang Ya'nan, chief editor of Aerospace Knowledge magazine. 

Wang noted that the recent operations by China Eastern have demonstrated the market potential to these major airlines, and further deliveries will help the C919 secure a larger market share.

China Eastern took the lead in signing an agreement with COMAC to order an additional 100 C919 aircraft, beyond an initial five. Air China announced in April that it had ordered 100 C919s, to be delivered from 2024 to 2031. In addition, 100 C919s have been ordered by China Southern Airlines.  

Earlier, there was positive news for the C919's potential entry into the European market. The South China Morning Post reported that China's civil aviation authorities have grown more optimistic about receiving EU certification in 2025, following an on-the-ground inspection of the C919 by EU regulators in July in Shanghai.

Regarding the expansion into foreign markets, Li Yuan, an independent market observer, emphasized that more efforts are needed to promote the C919 internationally. He noted that the aircraft manufacturer is not just selling a product but offering a full life cycle guarantee, meaning that subsequent services must be robust and responsive.