Aviation

Indian woman becomes youngest commander to fly Boeing 777

New Delhi [India], July 8 : Captain Anny Divya has become the youngest woman commander to fly a Boeing 777.
At a young age of 30, Captain Divya has become world’s youngest woman commanders to fly a Boeing 777 airplane ever.
Born in Pathankot, Divya shifted to Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, when she was a kid. Her father is a retired Army official.
Talking to , Captain Divya said she is elated and gives all the credit to her parents.
“I am thankful to my parents and teachers for what I am today,” she said.
She further said that no journey is complete without obstacles and she had her share of ups and downs along the way.
“I had issues like financial problems, language barrier and cultural differences that I overcame with the support of my family and friends,” she said talking to .
She further said that she belonged to a middle class family and the fee for pilot courses were very high that time.
“My parents really believed in my goal and let me fly. There were no jobs at the time, so it’s not like the money my parents were putting in was something that I could earn later,” she said.
Besides these obstacles, she said, a lot of people discouraged her.
“Nobody was doing any pilot course in Vijayawada that time. So I was not encouraged to do it by a lot of people around me. But I just wanted to fly,” she said.
She added that one of her biggest obstacles was speaking in English language. She said that as in Vijayawada nobody spoke in English, she was not very good at it.
Talking to , she said, “I was not good with the English language. Although we did read and write in English, we mostly spoke in Telugu.”
She said coming to the flying academy helped her overcome that obstacle.
“I had some issues with pronunciation which I had to overcome. I learnt through my experiences. I used to feel bad about it a lot of times, but the point is to learn,” she added.
Talking about the airline culture, she said that it is very good and they have a set of management rules that helps them in a range of issues.

“My airline is very professional and I love working there,” she said.

Aviation

COMAC Unveils Plans for the C929 to Rival Airbus and Boeing

After the success of China’s first C919 aircraft, the country is setting its sights on developing a larger plane. COMAC (Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China) has officially confirmed plans to build a widebody aircraft, marking a significant step in its aircraft lineup.

Traditionally, Airbus and Boeing dominate the widebody aircraft market, with decades of expertise in developing planes and engines capable of carrying heavy payloads. China, which currently relies on imported engines, is now aiming to challenge these giants with its own widebody jet, the C929, designed to compete with the Airbus A350 and Boeing 777.

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The C929 will be China’s first independently developed long-range widebody aircraft. It adheres to international airworthiness standards and boasts independent intellectual property rights. The baseline version is designed to seat 280 passengers and offers a range of 12,000 kilometers, catering to global demand for both regional and international air travel.

Russia, which also needs reliable narrowbody and widebody aircraft, could become a key customer for the C929. Additionally, China plans to target the broader Asian market as it continues to expand its aviation capabilities.

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China’s aviation progress includes the ARJ21 (now called C909), a regional jet with 100 seats for shorter routes, and the C919, a narrowbody jet with 180 seats designed to rival the Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus A320. Both models have found increasing demand in the domestic market.

At China’s largest air show in Zhuhai, COMAC announced that Air China will be the launch customer for the C929 widebody jet, though details about order size and delivery timelines were not disclosed.

Other major deals announced by COMAC include:

Hainan Airlines: Firm orders for 60 C919 and 40 C909 regional jets.
Colorful Guizhou Airlines: 30 C909 jets, with 20 firm orders and 10 provisional agreements.

The C929, renamed from the CR929 after Russia withdrew from the joint development project in 2023, is expected to carry 280–400 passengers with a range of 12,000 kilometers, competing directly with Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner.

According to COMAC’s deputy general manager, Tong Yu, the first fuselage section of the C929 is expected by September 2027, with prototype test flights anticipated soon after.