China Eastern Airlines launched a new C919 express route from Shanghai in East China to Wuhan in Central China's Hubei Province on December 4, marking the 8th city served by the C919 in its commercial operations and further advancing the aircraft's commercialization. Photo: China Eastern Airlines

China Eastern Airlines launched a new C919 route from East China's Shanghai to Wuhan in Central China's Hubei Province on Wednesday, marking the 8th city served by the domestically-made C919 plane, further advancing the aircraft's commercialization.

At 11:08 am, a China Eastern Airlines operated flight MU5385 using the C919 aircraft, carrying 142 passengers from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport to Wuhan Tianhe International Airport.

For this flight, China Eastern Airlines deployed its ninth C919, aircraft B-657T, the world's first C919 with a fully domestic in-flight network. Each seat is equipped with a "cabin network" label, offering passengers enhanced and flexible in-flight entertainment. 

Passengers can access the local network platform using their Wi-Fi-enabled mobile device after switching to flight mode.

As the first airline to operate commercial flights using the domestically produced C919, as well as the largest operator of the aircraft, China Eastern Airlines now has a fleet of nine C919 planes, with a total of 105 planes awaiting delivery. 

Since its commercial debut on May 28, 2023, as of November 21, 2024, the C919 has completed over 5,500 commercial flights and carried more than 750,000 passenger trips.

Global Times