Airline China Eastern Airlines performed the first commercial flight on Sunday with a C919 from the Chinese aircraft manufacturer Comac. The plane flew from Shanghai to Beijing on Sunday morning.

There were more than 130 passengers on board. The aircraft is the Chinese variant of the Boeing 737 and the Airbus A320, which means that Comac is competing with American and European aircraft manufacturers.

Comac has been making airplanes for years, but until now has been a minor player. The aircraft market for aircraft from about a hundred seats is divided between Airbus and Boeing. The European manufacturer Airbus in particular has been very active in the Chinese market in recent years because Boeing was more affected by trade tensions between China and the United States and because the American manufacturer had to ground the 737 MAX aircraft for a long time after two crashes.

Comac has been developing the C919 since 2008 and presented the first prototype of the aircraft in 2015. Although the C919 is made in China, manufacturer Comac is dependent on Western companies for many parts, such as the American General Electric and Honeywell and the French Safran.

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* Origin: AVIATION ECHO HQ (2:292/854)