China Eastern Airlines receives 2nd C919 plane, with the first already flying more than 10,000 passengers

By Global Times
Published: Jul 16, 2023 12:08 PM

China Eastern Airlines received a second home-made C919 passenger plane in Shanghai on Sunday, following the first commercial flight of the plane since May 28, a sign that the carrier is speeding up the formation of a C919 flight fleet.

At 10:06 am on Sunday, the plane with the number of B-919C took off from Shanghai Pudong International Airport and landed at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport at 10:20 am, formally marking the plane entering the China Eastern Airlines fleet.

It is the second C919 aircraft received by China Eastern Airlines and will initially operate flights between Shanghai and Chengdu, similar to the first C919 aircraft delivered to the carrier. More domestic flights routes are expected to be added soon, China Eastern said.

China Eastern Airlines, based in Shanghai as the world's first operator of C919, received the world's first C919 model from Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) on December 9, 2022. On May 28 this year, China Eastern completed the first round-trip flight using the plane between Beijing and Shanghai.

As of July 12, the first C919 has operated a total of 87 commercial flights, including 85 Shanghai-Chengdu flights, with an average passenger load factor of nearly 80 percent, carrying a total of 11,095 passengers, China Eastern said.

China Eastern Airlines has provided aircraft specific training for eight captains, 46 cabin crew members and 16 aircraft maintenance personnel since the first plane was put into operation. Another 21 pilots are now undergoing training.

Chinese Eastern and COMAC officially signed a purchase agreement to buy five C919 passenger planes in March 2021. COMAC said in June that the C919 has received a total of 1,061 orders from more than 30 customers.