China's first homemade large passenger jet, the C919, sits outside a hangar at the final assembly plant of the Commercial Aircraft Corp of China in Shanghai on Monday. Photo: CFP

Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC) said on Tuesday that six of its self-developed C919 large passenger aircraft are undertaking test flights.

Research and development of the wide-body passenger jet C929, jointly developed by the Chinese company and its Russian partner, is also progressing smoothly, according to a post that COMAC sent to the Global Times on Tuesday.

COMAC exhibited its C919 mobile digital aircraft display platform at the biennial Airshow China held in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province. The show, the biggest in China, kicked off on Tuesday and will run until Sunday. 

The platform provides the real cabin scene of the C919 plane, allowing visitors to enjoy the spacious interior, layout and flight experience.

As the world's second-largest civil aviation market, China has continually achieved growth in the sector. It has committed to developing two trunk airliners and two regional airplane models - the C919 narrow-body and the CR929 wide-body jetliners - as well as the ARJ21 regional jet and MA60 series turboprop aircraft.

The ARJ21 aircraft has opened more than 220 routes in more than 90 cities, and carried more than 3.4 million passengers, latest data from the COMAC showed.

The C919 is China's first homegrown trunk jetliner. The project started in 2008 and the plane conducted a successful maiden flight in May 2017. It has 158-174 seats and a range of up to 5,555 kilometers.

COMAC has received 815 orders for the C919 from 28 domestic and foreign airlines, Wu Guanghui, National People's Congress deputy and chief designer of the aircraft, said in May 2020.

However, COMAC has been reportedly unable to get timely help from suppliers and has run out of some spare parts amid tough US export rules, Reuters reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the program.

During the Airshow China, COMAC also displayed its CBJ business jet, which is one of a series of products of ARJ21 aircraft targeting the high-end market.

With a more spacious cabin than rival models, the aircraft design can seat from 12-29 passengers. It can be flexibly configured with relatively independent functional areas according to the individualized requirements of customers, the company said.

Global Times