Photo: Courtesy of China Eastern

China's domestically-built C919 aircraft started its fourth regular passenger route service on Friday, the operator of the aircraft China Eastern Airlines said, marking the latest progress of the aircraft's expanding commercial operations. 

The plane, carrying 162 passengers from the Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport at 9:37 am, and arrived at the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport at 11:30 am, where it was welcomed by a water gate ceremony. 

According to the current slot, the C919 passenger aircraft will fly a round trip between the two cities once per day. 

China Eastern is the first C919 customer globally with a total of six aircraft. It is also currently the only operator of the aircraft. 

Photo: Courtesy of China Eastern

From the first commercial flight on May 28, 2023 to June 13, 2024, China Eastern said its C919 fleet has carried out a total of 2,360 commercial flights, with a total flying time of more than 6,560 hours, carrying more than 300,000 passengers.

The aircraft's current three routes are from Shanghai to Beijing, Shanghai to Chengdu and Shanghai to Xi'an. 

China Eastern said it will receive more C919 aircraft this year, with more routes expected to be added to the carrier's network. 

Global Times