• 

  Comac

  Business Type:

  Planemaker

  Date Founded:

  2008-05-11

  CEO:

  He Dongfeng

  Headquarters Location:

  Shanghai, China

  Key Product Lines:

  Comac ARJ21, Comac C919, Comac C929

COMAC's first C919 for the first airline customer took flight in Shanghai on May 14th, 2022. The aircraft (Manufacturer Serial Number 007, aircraft temporary registration number B-001J) took off at 06:25 local time at Shanghai Pudong International Airport, and landed at the same site at 09:54.COMAC said that the test pilots and flight test engineers successfully accomplished all the pre-set tasks during the three hours and two minutes of the maiden flight, and the aircraft performed well during the whole flight.

Yesterday's flight is another milestone for the C919 program after COMAC announced the first confirmed order with its launch customer, China Eastern Airlines, in March 2021. The confirmed order shows China Eastern will purchase five C919 aircraft, and the after-delivery operations base will be mainly in Shanghai.

COMAC's C919 program journey and achievements

The C919 program started its project assessment in 2006. Two years later, COMAC was founded to lead the project. The program's name, "C919," was unveiled in 2009. And CAAC officially accepted the application for C919 type certification submitted by COMAC in 2010.

COMAC has built six C919 (MSN 001-006) for experimental flight tests. The 001 took the program's first flight on May 5th, 2017, also at Shanghai Pudong International Airport, close to the C919 final assembly line (FAL).

Soon after the first flight, COMAC put MSN 002 and 003 into the flight tests in 2018. MSN 004 - 006 followed in 2019. So, by the end of 2019, all six aircraft for experimental flight tests had been put into flight test operations in four main test bases scattered across China: Shanghai; Yanliang, Shaanxi; Nanchang, Jiangxi; and Dongying, Shandong. The C919 program had now entered the intensive test flight phase.

In March 2021, COMAC and China Eastern Airlines jointly announced the confirmed purchase order of five C919 aircraft and signed the contract in Shanghai, witnessed by both company's Chairman and senior officials of Shanghai.

Entry into service of China Eastern's C919

The C919 program needs to receive a TC (type certificate) approved by CAAC before COMAC can deliver it to any airline customer. Also, the aircraft needs to receive an AC (airworthiness certificate) issued by CAAC as well before it can enter into service. The airline that receives the C919 needs to renew its OS (Operations Specifications) and other necessary operating manuals (which also need to be approved by CAAC) before putting the delivered aircraft into commercial operations.

COMAC's senior management said in January this year that the C919 program will be type certified, and the first C919 will be delivered before the end of 2022. In a report released by China Eastern Airlines to its shareholders earlier this week, the listed price of the C919 aircraft was first publicly known as US$99 million.

China Eastern Airlines rebranded and renamed its wholly-owned subsidiary OTT Airlines (One Two Three Airlines) in 2020, based at Hongqiao Airport, Shanghai. According to China Eastern, OTT Airlines will mainly operate ARJ21, C919, and other aircraft.

OTT Airlines received its first ARJ21 aircraft in June 2020. On the same day, all three major airlines in China, Air China, China Southern Airlines, and China Eastern Airlines (through OTT Airlines), received their first ARJ21. OTT has received seven ARJ21 to today, according to data from atdb.aero.

What do you think about C919's future delivery and operations?