A China Eastern Airlines' C919 passenger plane prepares to take off from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport on August 4, 2023. /China Media Group (CMG)
As the second C919 large passenger plane joined China Eastern Airlines for service, the operator now flies two of these China-made jets between Shanghai and Chengdu starting Friday.
The two C919 planes serve on the "Shanghai-Chengdu express route" between east China's Shanghai Municipality and Chengdu City, southwest China's Sichuan Province. Four flights are scheduled every other day between Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport and Chengdu Tianfu International Airport, with two daily flights the rest of the week.
The airline operates around 38 flights on this route every day.
Two of the C919 planes are seen at the Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport on August 4, 2023. /CMG
"As both Shanghai and Chengdu are popular tourist destinations during the summer transport peak season, and the FISU World University Games (Universiade) is underway in Chengdu, the passenger load factor of the route has averaged over 90 percent in recent days," said Xiong Jie, senior manager of Hongqiao Passenger Service Center, Ground Service Department under China Eastern Airlines.
After its inaugural commercial flight between Shanghai and Beijing on May 28, C919 has completed 125 commercial flights and served over 15,000 passengers as of July 31.
Citing sources with China Eastern Airlines, the China News Service (CNS) said that the C919 jetliner will fly to more cities, such as Xi'an City in northwest China's Shannxi Province, Kunming in southwest China's Yunnan Province, and Guangzhou and Shenzhen in south China's Guangdong Province.
The airline is expected to receive three more C919 aircraft this year, according to the CNS.