COMAC C919 carries its millionth revenue passenger since entering service   

The Chinese-built COMAC C919 narrowbody jet has celebrated carrying its millionth passenger since entering service in May 2023. The landmark occasion was marked in a special ceremony held on December 19. 2024.

Chinese planemaker COMAC (Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China) confirmed in a statement that its domestically produced C919 single-aisle jet has completed over one million revenue passenger trips since it entered service with China Eastern Airlines on May 28, 2023.

According to the People’s Daily Online, a passenger surnamed Lin, became the type’s millionth passenger when she undertook a flight from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA) to Xi’an Xianyang International Airport (XIY). The passenger had her photo taken along with the crew of her flight and was presented with a model of the C919 as a memento of her trip as the millionth C919 passenger.

China Eastern Airlines As of December 19, 2024, COMAC has delivered a total of 14 C919 aircraft to three airlines within China – China Eastern Airlines, Air China, and China Southern Airlines. Between these carriers, the C919 operates on 15 routes and currently serves 10 cities within China. China Eastern Airlines, as the world’s first airline to operate the C919, utilizes nine aircraft that have collectively performed 6,240 commercial flights on eight routes, carrying more than 850,000 passenger trips to date.

Air China operates four routes with its C919, flying from Beijing to Shanghai, Hangzhou, Chengdu, and Wuhan. China Southern Airlines has also opened four routes from Guangzhou to Shanghai, Chengdu, Hangzhou, and Haikou.

Along with its smaller C909 regional jet sister (formerly known as the ARJ21), orders for both types combined reached a record of 330 units in 2024, with nearly 50 aircraft already delivered, according to Wei Yingbiao, a Vice-President of COMAC, at a conference held on December 19. 2024.

N509FZ / Wikimedia CommonsIt has also been revealed that in November 2024, China Eastern Airlines completed the first full engine change on one of its C919 aircraft. Aviation analysts commented at the time that the successful engine change would pave the way for Chinese operators of the C919 to continue rolling out the “comprehensive commercial deployment of the type, as carrier’s operational and maintenance capabilities with the C919 continue to build as more aircraft enter service.”      

More about the C919

The C919 aircraft is the first commercial aircraft independently developed by China in accordance with international airworthiness standards and owning independent intellectual property rights. Designed from the ground up to rival Airbus’ A320 and Boeing’s B737 families, the C919 marks a significant step forward in terms of technology.

While perhaps not as innovative as contemporary designs, such as the Airbus A220,  the C919 is significantly cheaper to purchase and incorporates the same generation engines (CFM LEAP) as its rivals such as early Airbus A320s and B737-800 aircraft.

N509FZ / Wikimedia CommonsThe C919 comes in only one variant/fuselage length for the time being, with a seating capacity matching those of the abovementioned aircraft. It has a layout of 158 to 192 seats and a range of 2,200 to 3,000 nautical miles (4,075 to 5,555 km).  The first aircraft rolled out of COMAC’s Shanghai factory on November 2, 2015, and made its first flight on May 5, 2017.

COMAC has just opened a sales office in Singapore as the manufacturer continues its search for its first airline customer based outside of mainland China for its product range. In addition to the C909 and C919, in November 2024, the company announced a deal with Air China for the airline to become the launch customer for COMAC’s newest product – the C929 long-haul widebody aircraft.  

The COMAC C929 has long been touted as a potential rival to the Airbus A350 and Boeing 777 but it is understood that the Chinese homegrown jet will only accommodate around 280 seats.   

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