Photo: CCTV

The Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC) on Saturday morning completed the first test flight of the first domestically produced C919 aircraft that is set to be delivered. 

The plane departed from the Shanghai International Pudong Airport at 6:52 am and returned at 9:54 am. 

COMAC said that the test flight completed the scheduled tasks and the aircraft performed well and was in good condition, according to its official website. 

Preparations for the test flight and delivery of the C919 large aircraft are progressing in an orderly manner, the company said. 

The plane is to be delivered to China Eastern Airlines.

Wu Yongliang, vice general manager of COMAC, said earlier this year that the plane was to be delivered to the customer in 2022. 

The C919, China's first self-developed trunk jetliner, has 158-168 seats and a range of 4,075-5,555 km. The plane conducted a successful maiden flight in 2017. Since 2019, six C919 aircraft have conducted their test flights. 

In December 2020, the aircraft began the airworthiness certification process of the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

In March 2021, COMAC signed a purchase contract with China Eastern Airlines for five planes, marking the official entry into market operation for the plane. The new planes will be used on routes from Shanghai to Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Chengdu, according to the airline.

On May 10, China Eastern Airlines said in a filing that it planned to raise 15 billion yuan ($2.21 billion) to acquire 38 aircraft, including a total of 28 C919 and ARJ21-700 planes. The filing also revealed the unit price of the C919, which is $99 million.

To date, COMAC has received 815 orders for the C919 from 28 customers worldwide.

Global Times