On December 9th, the world's first C919 aircraft, with the registration number B-919A, was delivered to its world’s first launch customer, China Eastern Airlines (CEA).
The C919 is China's first homegrown large passenger aircraft in accordance with international airworthiness standards, and owns independent intellectual property rights.
It features an advanced aerodynamic design, propulsion system and materials, as well as lower carbon emission and higher fuel efficiency. A pattern of a Chinese seal reading "world's first C919" in Chinese is printed in the front part of the plane delivered.
The aircraft adopts a 164-seat configuration that comes with a two-class cabin layout, including 8 business class seats and 156 economy class ones. In the economy cabin, the middle seat in each three-seat row is 1.5 cm wider than its neighbouring ones, which offers more comfort.
With an aisle height of 2.25 meters, the plane comes with an efficient air filtration system, a passenger-centric lighting system and low noise. Besides, there are twenty 12'' drop-down screens that can play 1080P videos.
On the day of the delivery, a maiden flight of the C919 aircraft was made by three senior CEA pilots from the Shanghai Pudong International Airport to the Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport.
After arriving at the Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport and passing through a water gate, the aircraft was officially commissioned into the fleet of CEA. It is expected to be put into commercial use in the spring of 2023.
CEA, as the world's first airline operator for C919, boasts a fleet of nearly 800 airplanes. It has rich operational experience and enjoys comprehensive advantages. Passengers will soon be able to catch an early experience of the superior and reliable performance of the C919 with CEA .
China Eastern Airlines takes delivery of the world's first COMAC C919 aircraft (airlinerwatch.com)
