News
C919 to perform maiden flight
May 5th 2017
At press time, China’s first-ever homebuilt twin-aisle jetliner, the C919 was scheduled to perform its maiden flight. The test aircraft was planned to take off from Shanghai Pudong International Airport for approximately three hours of flight testing. Read More »
While marking a significant milestone for its manufacturer, Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac), the C919 still has a long way to go before it will enter revenue service with airlines. The test aircraft will likely have to go through years of rigorous certification processes to meet international aviation safety regulations.
The programme is already heavily delayed. When first announcing the C919 in 2010, Comac was aiming for first delivery in 2016, but the prototype was not unveiled until November 2015 and technical setbacks have been delaying its maiden flight ever since.
Seating 168 passengers in a single class configuration, the C919 is very similar to the A320 and B737 series. The Mainland jetliner will be powered exclusively by CFM International LEAP-1C engines.
Some industry analysts have suggested the C919 will not be competitive either technologically or commercially when it enters service given its strong dependence on foreign suppliers.
Comac claims to have secured more than 500 Mainland orders for the C919, although a study of its order book reveals the majority of these commitments are MOUs and LOIs rather than firm orders.
