COMAC is delivering its first C919 to China Eastern in Shanghai on December 9th. This milestone could mean the opening of a new era in which Chinese airlines will have a third option other than Boeing and Airbus when they expand their fleet in the future.

The C919 (registration number B-919A) to China Eastern has a two-class cabin configuration of 164 seats onboard (C8Y156), a configuration and seat number which fit most of the flight routes within China, or even some regional routes.

First commercial operation

China Eastern, after receiving the first C919, needs to conduct additional work to include the C919 into its current valid Operating Certificated issued by the CAAC.

The additional work includes revisions of the current management manuals, training preparations of technical personnel, and demonstration flights under CAAC supervision, which is expected to take several months. Therefore, the first C919 commercial operation will be around April 2023.

Potential customers

China Eastern now has a confirmed order of five C919s. However, during China Airshow in Zhuhai, COMAC announced 300 C919 orders from seven Chinese state-owned leasing companies last month. Based on convention, these C919s will eventually go to Chinese airliners with the support of the leasing companies in the coming future.

Photo: SAMC

It is reported that COMAC has applied the Type Certificate (TC) to European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). It's a prerequisite to let C919 enter the mainstream international market.

Back in 2011, Ryanair signed a memorandum of understanding with COMAC regarding 200 C919s. Last March, Ryanair CEO O 'Leary reiterated their interest in the C919 program, saying, "Airbus and Boeing have long dominated the world market for commercial aircraft, and we look forward to the emergence of a third commercial aircraft manufacturer."

However, to any potential foreign customer, especially an LCC, C919 needs to prove its reliability and economy in the upcoming operation to be competitive in the market.

Mass Production

CAAC issued the C919 program Production Certificate (PC) to COMAC on November 29th. The PC shows that the regulator recognizes COMAC's quality assurance level for the production system, and the C919 program got a green light for mass production.

Compared with COMAC's ARJ21 program, which received PC one year and a half after its first delivery, the C919 program's progress is significantly improved. It shows that COMAC's quality control system is more mature and reliable after years of mass production of the ARJ21.

Photo: COMAC

Chinese airlines now receive about 200+ single-aisle aircraft from Boeing and Airbus. And it's reported that COMAC plans to manufacture 50 C919s per year by 2025. If this target is achieved, it will mean that COMAC will have at least a 25% market share of annual deliveries from 2025.

Travel restrictions

Surprisingly, the Chinese government started to loosen some of its strict COVID prevention policies, which had been in place for the last three years.

Now all the major domestic airports canceled their mandatory PCR test for domestic arriving passengers. And the current 5+3 quarantine policy is expected to be further shortened.

As a result, the domestic flight numbers of the Shanghai Hongqiao Airport (SHA) and Shanghai Pudong Airport (PVG) combined increased by 38% last week.

All these signs show the rebound of the Chinese domestic civil aviation market is finally approaching.

Nevertheless, the C919 needs to prove itself as soon as it enters into commercial operation. If the performance is satisfactory, with the mass production and the determined customers, the program could be successful in the coming decades.

Where do you see the C919 program in 10 years? Please share your valuable thoughts with Simple Flying in the comment section.