China Eastern Airlines will receive the first C919 narrow-body jet aircraft developed by China's COMAC in December 2022 and begin its commercial operation. About this reports TASS with reference to the network publication Sina.

China Eastern Airlines is the first airline to use this aircraft on domestic flights. The need for boards is estimated at about 300 per year over the next 20 years.

The first C919 aircraft, the development of which was initiated by the Chinese government, was presented in Shanghai in November 2015. The C919 made its first flight on May 5, 2017.

On September 29, 2022, a solemn ceremony of awarding the type certificate for the C919 large passenger aircraft was held at the Beijing Capital International Airport.

The C919 has from 158 to 168 seats (the aircraft can be produced in several modifications) and a flight range of 4 075 to 5 555 kilometers. The cruising speed of the Comac C919 will be 834 kilometers per hour.

At the moment, the development company has already received 815 orders from 28 customers worldwide, including Air China, China Southern Airlines, Hainan Airlines and GECAS. In total, COMAC plans to sell at least 2 thousand airliners in the future.

It is expected that the airliner will compete with Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX, as well as Russian SSJ New and MS-21.