China’s C919: maiden commercial flight will span busiest domestic route on Sunday
- From Shanghai to Beijing – journey will mark the culmination of 14 years of home-grown development in China’s bid to compete with Boeing and Airbus
- China Eastern Airlines flight MU9191 comes after 100 hours of test flights since December
China plans to launch the first commercial flight of its C919 narrow-body jet on Sunday, marking a much-anticipated milestone in Beijing’s push to break the duopoly of Boeing and Airbus in global airplane production.
The 10.45am maiden journey, to be operated by China Eastern Airlines as flight number MU9191, will head from Shanghai to Beijing – the country’s busiest domestic-flight route. The plane is expected to land at Beijing Capital Airport at 1.10pm, according to the airline’s schedule.
Later in the afternoon, it will return to Shanghai as flight number MU9192. The trips did not appear to be open for public booking as of Friday afternoon.
The flights come as China’s aviation market has reopened in recent months following more than three years of Covid-19 outbreaks, which had led to numerous airport shutdowns and domestic and international flight cancellations. Domestic flights have since been recovering, though the pace has been slower for international flights, according to OAG, a flight-data and -analytics company.
The trip from Beijing Capital International Airport to Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport remains the busiest domestic airline route in China, according to data from OAG. However, seat capacity on the Guangzhou Baiyuan Airport to Shanghai Hongqiao route is increasing at a faster pace, compared with before the pandemic in 2019, OAG said.
