A C919 aircraft numbered B-919G departed from Shanghai Pudong International Airport and landed at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport shortly on May 28, 2024. Photo:VCG

China Eastern Airlines on Tuesday formally took delivery of its sixth C919 jet, as the country's domestically developed large passenger aircraft celebrated the first  anniversary of commercial operations. Industry analysts said that the mass production and delivery of C919 is advancing steadily, and Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC) may compete with international industry leaders by 2035 in terms of aircraft production capacity, technical support and maintenance.

On Tuesday morning, a new C919 aircraft departed from the Shanghai Pudong International Airport and landed at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport shortly afterward. The plane formally joined China Eastern Airlines' fleet, according to a press release the airline sent to the Global Times.

This is the first delivery from an order for 100 C919 that China Eastern Airlines signed with COMAC in September 2023, the company said.

Since the C919's inaugural commercial flight on May 28, 2023, its commercial operations have picked up speed. Over the past year, the aircraft began flying routes between Shanghai and Beijing, operating across the Chinese Lunar New Year travel rush, and it also debuted at the Singapore Airshow. A chartered flight from Hong Kong to Shanghai is scheduled for June 1, which will mark the C919's first commercial flight outside the Chinese mainland, according to China Eastern Airlines.

As of Monday, C919 jets had carried nearly 300,000 passengers over the past 12 months, accumulating more than 6,000 incident-free flight-hours, achieving preliminary success in commercial operations, data showed.

"Over the past year, the C919's commercial operations have made notable progress, carrying a large number of passengers and conducting test flights on more routes. The aircraft's debut at the Singapore Airshow underlines COMAC's resolve and initiative in exploring international markets," Wang Yanan, chief editor of Beijing-based Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

In March, the C919 and the ARJ21, another domestically built jet, made their debuts in Malaysia, marking the last leg of the two planes' demonstration flight tours in Southeast Asia after Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Indonesia, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Wang said that Southeast Asia may be a major overseas market for the C919 in the coming years, since the Asia-Pacific region is expected to be the most vibrant commercial aviation market in the next decade.

He said that the scale operation of the C919 is significant in promoting China's competitiveness in the global aviation market.

Orders for the C919 have exceeded 1,200, including overseas orders from leading aircraft leasing companies such as AerCap and Brunei Qiji Airlines, Xinhua said in another report in February.

As orders increase, the C919 will enter a new phase, analysts said, noting that COMAC faces new challenges of large-scale deliveries.

The manufacturer should continue to improve the aircraft's design and production based on feedback from commercial operations to improve the competitiveness of domestically made aircraft, Lin Zhijie, an independent market watcher, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

COMAC needs to steadily increase its annual production and delivery capacity from five to 50 and then to 100 to meet rising demand, Lin said. It also has to strengthen its industrial and supply chain management to ensure the safety and reliability of its products.

COMAC is likely to reach the same level as international giants such as Boeing and Aircraft as early as 2035 in terms of production capacity, technical support and maintenance, Wang said.

"The C919 has sufficient orders while the C929 project has begun, which points to the sound development of the country's air transport and aircraft manufacturing sector," Qi Qi, an independent market analyst, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Qi called for the accelerated development of domestic aircraft industrial and supply chains, especially to ensure stable supplies of such items as engines and avionics, in a bid to boost the mass production of C919 jets.

Wang said the progress made by the C919 is a vivid display of China's fruitful results in the high-end manufacturing sector amid its rapid development and upgrading, and the continuing momentum will help the country retain its leading position in the global competition.

China's first domestically developed large passenger jet C919 made its commercial maiden flight on May 28, 2023. One year on, the C919 will make its first commercial flight outside the Chinese mainland. Graphic: GT