A new contender in the commercial aircraft market might be emerging, as COMAC has carried over 500,000 passengers in a little over a year. Boeing and Airbus may have more competition looming sooner or later thanks to China and its air travel scene.

Shanghai Flights

COMAC launched its first large passenger commercial aircraft, the C919 on May 28, 2023. After 15 months of flying with China Eastern Airlines, the aircraft has accumulated over 3,700 different flights and over 100,000 flight hours.

To celebrate this milestone, COMAC and China Eastern Airlines had photo ops with the 500,000th passenger. The man, who is only known as "Lu", was awarded a model of the C919 with the captain and chief flight attendant's signatures. Lu and his friend were boarding flight MU9188 to fly from Chengdu Tianfu International Airport to Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport.

There are currently seven C919 aircraft in China Eastern's fleet, flying across Chengdu, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xi'an, and the capital Beijing. The increase in travel over the summer called for the airline to order additional C919s, as each flight around the summer was close to full capacity — averaging 86% of seats filled. Each domestic airport also has maintenance crews specifically for COMAC C919s.

The Future of COMAC

On Wednesday, August 28, 2024, two additional Chinese airlines, China Southern Airlines and Air China, received their first C919s in Shanghai. China Southern Airlines is slated to give its first C919 flight from Guangzhou to Shanghai this September 19.

As of now, there are nine C919s — all of which are owned by China's three largest airlines.

It's been said that over 1,200 orders have been placed for the C919, most of which are from China-based airlines and airports. COMAC is hoping to assemble 150 C919 aircraft annually by 2028.

The C919 is also making a splash outside of China. Earlier this year, Tibet Airlines announced it placed an order for 40 C919s, in addition to 10 ARJ21 jets, all of which are made to order to accommodate "high-altitude plateaus" for Singapore's hillier regions.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has also been looking to work with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to see if the aircraft can be approved for air travel in Europe.

According to passengers who have been on a C919, the cabins do great to accommodate passengers with shorter stature, as luggage compartments hang around four inches lower than other commercial aircraft. The middle seats in economy class are also half an inch wider, making space roomier and more comfortable overall for most passengers. Needless to say, COMAC is certainly trying to stand out from Boeing and Airbus and certainly is becoming a sought-after manufacturer inside and outside China.

What are your thoughts on COMAC's recent milestone? Would you like to fly in a C919 one day? Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below!