The world’s first C919 aircraft, bearing the registration B-919A, is being delivered to its world’s first customer, China Eastern Airlines (CEA). The Shanghai-based airline is the launch customer of the type and has been heavily involved in its development.
The flight followed news that China Eastern’s aircraft acceptance team for the first aircraft arrived at COMAC’s Delivery Center late last month. The C919 is China’s first homegrown large passenger aircraft to meet international airworthiness standards and follows the smaller regional jet, the ARJ21, to production. The aircraft features an advanced aerodynamic design, propulsion system, and materials, as well as lower carbon emissions and higher fuel efficiency than the planes it is looking to replace
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In honor of this historic moment, a pattern of a Chinese seal reading “world’s first C919” in Chinese is printed on the front part of the plane being delivered.
What is the aircraft like?
The C919 delivered to China Eastern Airlines is configured with 164 seats in a two-class cabin layout, including eight business class seats and 156 economy class ones. Most notably, the middle seat in each three-seat row is 1.5 cm wider than its neighboring ones in the economy cabin in a move to offer more comfort and reduce discomfort for passengers sitting in the middle seat with shared armrests.
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The aircraft also has an aisle height of 2.25 meters (7 feet and 4.6 inches), ensuring even the tallest passengers can board comfortably. The plane also has an industry-standard efficient air filtration system, a passenger-focused lighting system, and twenty 12” drop-down screens that can play 1080P videos.
COMAC indicated that the aircraft could seat 158 to 192 passengers and comes with a range of 2,200 nautical miles. The first aircraft of the type rolled out on November 2nd, 2015, with the first test flight conducted in May 2017. The C919 aircraft obtained its Type Certificate in September from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), which also issued the C919 program Production Certificate (PC) to COMAC in Shanghai on November 29th.
China Eastern Airlines and the C919
Three senior CEA pilots are responsible for the maiden flight of the C919 aircraft from Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) to Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport. The smaller airport served as the primary airport for the city before Pudong was completed in 1999. The airport now primarily serves domestic destinations and is a hub for China Eastern Airlines.
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After arriving at the Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, the new aircraft passes through the traditional water cannon before officially commissioning into the fleet of CEA. The model is one of five on order by the airline and will enter commercial use in the spring of 2023.
China Eastern Airlines has been deeply involved in the design and development of C919 aircraft, trained and provided the first C919 flight crew to fly a jet as a companion during the maiden flight of C919 aircraft, and provided suggestions from the perspectives of customer use and maintenance. The seventh largest airline in the world has long been the launch customer of the type and has been heavily involved in its development.
The aircraft made its debut public appearance last month during the Zhuhai Air Show. COMAC announced that it had received around 300 orders from carriers during the airshow for the aircraft, which retail at the cost of US$99 million each.
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