Comac C919

The Comac C919 is a narrow-body airliner developed by Chinese state owned aircraft manufacturer Comac. The development program was launched in 2008 as a competitor to the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737. Production began in December 2011, with the first prototype being rolled out on 2 November 2015; the maiden flight took place on 5 May 2017. On 29 September 2022 the C919 received its CAAC type certificate. The first production airframe was delivered to China Eastern Airlines on 9 December 2022 and was put into commercial passenger service on 28 May 2023. The aircraft, primarily constructed with aluminium alloys, is powered by CFM International LEAP turbofan engines and carries 158 (8J + 150Y) to 168 (168Y) passengers in a normal operating configuration up to 5,555 km (3,000 nmi; 3,500 mi). In 2023, COMAC announced that it would develop both a shortened and a stretched version of the passenger jet – similar to the sub-variants offered for the competing Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus A320neo family.