China's first domestically made passenger plane C919 takes maiden commercial flight from Shanghai to Beijing on May 28, 2023. Photo: IC

China's home-made C919 aircraft is expanding its route map and will start flying from Beijing to Shanghai, with China Eastern Airlines having received four C919 aircraft.

Previously, the aircraft was only used on the route between Shanghai and Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province.

On January 9, a C919 will take off from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport at 15:30 and land in Beijing Daxing International Airport at 17:55, according to China Eastern. 

The plane will then return on a round trip from Beijing Daxing to Shanghai Hongqiao on the same day. 

In the next two weeks, there will be one round-trip between Beijing and Shanghai using the C919 every day. 

China Eastern welcomed its fourth C919 on January 2 and said it will receive more C919 aircraft later this year. 

On May 28, 2023, China Eastern operated the maiden flight of the C919 and the plane started being used on the route from Shanghai to Chengdu the day after. 

On September 28, 2023, China Eastern signed an order for an additional 100 C919s, which will make it the world's largest user of the aircraft.

China Eastern said its C919 fleet has carried out 655 commercial flights, transporting a total of nearly 82,000 passengers since its maiden flight. 

Regarding Chinese-made aircraft, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said at an annual meeting held last week that it will promote the approval review of the C919 aircraft with the European Aviation Safety Agency, so that the aircraft can be used in more countries. 

Global Times