China's C919 jetliner makes international debut in Singapore

China's first domestically developed large passenger jet, the C919, made its first overseas trial flight Sunday in Singapore to prepare for the upcoming airshow, the China Media Group reported. 

The plane arrived at Changi Airport on Saturday after a non-stop flight of nearly six hours to feature in Singapore Airshow 2024, according to China Eastern Airlines Singapore Branch.

Two such narrow-body C919 and three ARJ21 passenger jetliners developed by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) will be on show at the biennial event. This will be the quintet's first "group appearance" overseas, said China Eastern Airlines Singapore Branch.

This year's airshow, held at the Changi Exhibition Center, will feature a total of eight aerial displays including one flypast from six air forces and two commercial companies. 

The aerial performances will include aerobatic teams from India, Australia, Indonesia and South Korea. The United States Air Force's B-52 bomber will also make a flypast at the airshow, and the Singapore Air Force will send its F-15 fighter jet and Apache attack helicopter. 

The C919 jetliner will perform flight demonstrations at the air show, which will last from February 20 to 25, according to the event's organizer. The COMAC will be one of two commercial aircraft manufacturers flying their planes, alongside Airbus. Boeing will not send a commercial aircraft to the show this year, Reuters reported.

At the air show, industry insiders will also discuss the aviation sector's environmental impact after the global aviation industry last November agreed to lower fuel carbon emissions 5 percent by 2030, towards a goal of "net zero" carbon emissions by 2050.

"For the industry to meet its Fly Net Zero ambitions by 2050, Asia will be a key driver given that it will continue to remain the largest aviation market," Adam Cowburn of Alton Aviation Consultancy said.

Currently, there are four C919 jetliners in service in China. China's aviation authority has said it will promote the plane internationally this year and pursue European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification.

"We have also seen a growing trend where clients are including the C919 option in their fleet evaluation," Cowburn said.

The C919 has a wingspan of nearly 36 meters, a length of about 39 meters, a tail height of around 12 meters, and can carry up to 192 passengers for up to 5,555 km. 

The first C919 aircraft made its inaugural commercial flight between east China's Shanghai Municipality and the capital city Beijing on May 28, 2023. As of December 31, 2023, the China Eastern Airlines' C919 fleet has accumulated more than 2,200 safe flight hours, completed 655 commercial flight trips and transported nearly 82,000 passengers.

(With input from agencies)