Two more China's C919 passenger jets set to greet passengers

As a C919, China's first home-made large passenger jet, landed at Beijing Capital International Airport and was welcomed by a traditional aviation salute when it taxied across two plumes of water Thursday morning, China moved one step closer to fully commercializing its self-manufactured passenger aircraft.

Two C919s were delivered to Air China and China Southern Airlines, two state-owned carriers, in Shanghai on Wednesday prior to their arrival in Beijing and southern China's Guangzhou City, respectively. 

They are scheduled to welcome passengers aboard in early September and mid-September, respectively.

To date, Chinese planemaker the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) has delivered nine C919 aircraft. 

The craft first entered domestic service in May last year with China Eastern, which flies seven of the jets domestically. Data published by China Aviation Daily shows that the seven planes had completed 3,133 commercial flights as of August 3 this year.

Reports say that China's three big state-owned airlines, Air China, Southern and Eastern, have each ordered 100 C919s, and COMAC has said more than 1,000 have been ordered overall.

Many in the aviation industry hail Wednesday's delivery as a milestone in the development of China's civil aviation market, especially in commercializing its homegrown large passenger jets.

Reuters quoted Zhongtai Securities, a China-based wealth management company, as saying last month it expected COMAC to be able to produce 100 aircraft a year by around 2030, with total jets produced exceeding 1,000 by 2035.

Airways magazine wrote in an article that the C919 represents China's ambition to compete with Western aerospace giants Airbus and Boeing, especially in a market that has seen challenges such as aircraft shortages and safety concerns with Boeing.

A forecast from aviation consultancy Cirium in May sees just under 1,700 C919 deliveries by 2042, giving the C919 around a 25 percent market share compared to Boeing's 30 percent and Airbus's 45 percent.

Others warn COMAC still has a lot of work, especially for future international operations as the company is currently pursuing benchmark certifications from the United States or European Union.

China has a massive civil aviation market. COMAC's forecast in late 2022 over the 2022-2041 period predicts China's civil aviation market to receive 9,284 new passenger jets, including 6,288 single-aisle jetliners.

The country is expected to become the world's largest single-country civil aviation market by 2041, according to the forecast.

(Cover: A C919 aircraft, Shanghai, August 29, 2024. /CFP)