C909 accounts for 70% of China's regional aviation market

China's homegrown C909 aircraft has become a pillar in the country's regional aviation market.

The C909 aircraft has taken 70% of China's regional aircraft fleet with 186 units delivered, ten years after the plane model was put into commercial operation in 2016, according to the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China.

The C909 has 90 seats and is mainly flown on regional travel routes that connect small and medium-sized cities.

It makes up a complete passenger transportation system with China's other domestically developed trunk airliners, including the C919.

"The C909 is a regional jet. Its route networks connect regional airports and secondary hub airports, playing a transportation supplementary role for major hub airports," said Chen Yong, chief designer of the C909 Aircraft series. 

"At the initial stage of design, we fully took into account China's complex terrain and conditions of potential operation areas, so that the C909 would be well adapted to China's central, western, and border regions, as well as overseas regional operations such as in Southeast Asia." Chen said.

C909 has carried out over 37 million passenger trips across more than 180 cities with over 500 flights daily.

"As a common saying goes in our industry, a good aircraft is built through design and manufacturing, but even more than that, it is perfected through flights. The C909 has been constantly optimized and improved in design as it continuously undergoes the market tests," said Chen.