China’s home-developed C919 plane enters regular service Monday, with public snapping up tickets
Workers inspect the C919 after landing at the Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport on May 29, 2023. Photo: Courtesy of Chen Zhencong
After the domestically manufactured C919's successful commercial debut on Sunday, the plane entered regular service, flying from Shanghai to Chengdu in Southwest China's Sichuan Province, on Monday.
The plane departed from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport at 8:25 am on Monday and arrived at Chengdu Tianfu International Airport at 11:05 am, according to information provider VariFlight.
Chinese consumers and aviation enthusiasts have long looked forward to a chance to fly on the home-made C919, with tickets for the Shanghai-Chengdu flight selling out in minutes.
Wu Jie, an aviation fan who took the flight from Shanghai to Chengdu, said that he specifically traveled from Hefei in East China's Anhui Province to Shanghai in order to experience the first regular commercial flight on China's "own big plane."
The majority of passengers are aviation enthusiasts along with some professionals from associated industries seeking to have a personal experience with the C919. All but three or four seats were occupied, Wu told the Global Times on Monday.
Wu said that the passengers had a good time, and the in-flight discussions focused on the C919, such as its latest updates and future refitting plans, during the 160-minute flight.
Chen Zhencong, an aviation fan from Jiaxing, East China's Zhejiang Province, made a special trip to Chengdu in advance in order to fly on the C919 back to Shanghai on Monday.
"I was so excited about the flight that I arrived at the airport three hours ahead of takeoff," Chen said, adding that he typically takes more than 100 domestic and international flights each year, but the flight on the China-built aircraft offered him a totally different experience.
Passengers inside the C919 cabin after landing at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport on May 29, 2023 Photo: Courtesy of Chen Zhencong
"I was so excited about the flight that I arrived at the airport three hours ahead of takeoff," Chen said, adding that he typically takes more than 100 domestic and international flights each year, but the flight on the China-built aircraft offered him a totally different experience.
"The commercial operation of the C919 is of great importance to the industry because the majority of the market is taken by Boeing and Airbus, and I'm excited to see a Chinese-built aircraft in the sky," Beijing-based aviation fan and social media content creator Zhou Peng told the Global Times on Monday.
The distinctive journey would not be complete without the passengers' in-person experience onboard. Wu gave a thumbs-up for the comfort of the new plane. For instance, he said that the leg space and the comfort of the seats have been significantly optimized, and the head space is bigger than similar models.
The C919 cabin has a height of 2.25 meters with an aisle height of 1.5 meters, offering passengers a comfortable visual space.
The meal offered on the C919 flight from Chengdu to Shanghai on May 29, 2023 Photo: Courtesy of Chen Zhencong
A passenger surnamed Wang said that the "engine was quiet" when the plane took off, adding that the windows are larger than on the Boeing 737 or Airbus 320, with the seat headrests able to be adjusted up and down. In addition, Wang felt that the ambient lighting in the C919 cabin was comfortable, according to reports by thepaper.cn.
Wang gave the whole flying experience full marks and said he felt extremely relaxed and content. The C919 is fitted with sockets under the seats meaning passengers are able to charge their phones.
Zhou said that tickets can be easily bought from any online travel agency or official airline website.
Chinese experts said that more people flying on the C919 will inject more confidence in terms of orders and potential consumers, which will also pump more growth into the industrial chain's development.
Also on Monday, the Chengdu Xiling Power Science & Technology Inc said that it has undertaken the production tasks related to various series of civilian aircraft, including the C919's nose fuselage aeronautical structural parts, and "it attaches great importance to the market's development and production line construction of the civil aviation business."
The Nanjing Quanxin Cable Technology Co said that the company's first batch of wrapping wire products adopted in the catalog of commercial aircraft has been supplied to the domestic large aircraft C919 and regional airliner ARJ21.
A report released by Commercial Aircraft Corp of China in September 2021 said that China will take delivery of 9,084 passenger planes at or above the 50-seat class by 2040, valued at approximately $1.4 trillion.
China's self-developed C919 completed its inaugural flight on Sunday afternoon, departing from Shanghai and landing at Beijing Capital International Airport with around 130 passengers onboard.
The second C919 aircraft, which is expected to be delivered to China Eastern Airlines in June, completed its first flight on May 2, and it has entered the verification test phase, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
Views through the window of the C919 during flight on May 29, 2023 Photo: Courtesy of Chen Zhencong
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