China’s C919 Flies 1 Million Passengers in Less Than 20 Months

China’s first domestically developed commercial aircraft, the C919, has reached a significant milestone by carrying over one million passengers since its entry into service.

This achievement highlights the growing role of China’s aviation industry and the increasing popularity of the C919 among airlines.

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The milestone was announced by Wei Yingbiao, Vice President of the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac), at an industry event. Wei stated that the C919 had carried half a million passengers by September 2 and reached the one million mark shortly thereafter.

Currently, 14 c919 planes are in operation. China Eastern Airlines has nine, Air China has two, and China Southern Airlines has three. The first comac c919 price was delivered to China Eastern Airlines in December 2022 and began passenger services in May 2023. Air China and China Southern Airlines started operating the c919 aircraft in August 2024.

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Comac’s other aircraft, the C909 (formerly ARJ21), has also been successful. Introduced in 2016, this regional plane now has a fleet of 156 and has carried more than 19 million passengers. The C909 is available in various versions, including business jets, medical evacuation planes, cargo aircraft, and firefighting models.

Comac is working on new versions of the C919. A high-altitude model is being designed to handle challenging take-off and landing conditions in western China’s plateau regions.

An extended-range version is also in development, which will increase passenger capacity to 210 seats and extend its maximum range to 4,500 kilometers, making it suitable for medium-to-long-haul routes.

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The C919 is a narrow-body jet competing c919 vs 737 with the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737. It seats 160-170 passengers and has a range of up to 3,000 nautical miles (5,550 kilometers). It is powered by CFM Leap-1C engines, similar to those used by its Western competitors, but it is said to be slightly less fuel-efficient.

Currently, Air China operates the comac c919 on routes connecting Beijing with Shanghai, Hangzhou, Chengdu, and Wuhan. China Southern Airlines uses it on routes from Guangzhou to Shanghai, Chengdu, Hangzhou, and Haikou.