COMAC C919 is a Chinese airliner designed to compete with the most popular narrowbodies – Airbus A320 and Boeing 737. It is the company’s second passenger jet after the smaller ARJ21.
The C919 first flew in 2017 and the first airframe to enter commercial service was delivered to China Eastern Airlines in December 2022. Actual commercial service started in May 2023.
Continue reading to learn more about which airlines operate or plan to operate the type and on which routes it can be seen.
COMAC C919 Operators and Routes in 2024
Currently, China Eastern Airlines is the only airline in the world to operate the C919. Whether other airlines will take delivery of the aircraft and put it into service in 2024 remains to be seen.
China Eastern Airlines
Originally, China Eastern Airlines placed firm orders for five C919s. More recently, it added another 100 to its order. Of those, four airframes have been delivered so far:
- B-919A: delivered in December 2022
- B919C: delivered in July 2023
- B919D: delivered in December 2023
- B919D: delivered in January 2024
It expects to receive the remaining aircraft by 2031, starting with an additional four airframes in 2024 and ramping up the delivery pace from there up to 20 airframes delivered in 2031.
China Eastern Airlines’ COMAC C919s are fitted with 164 seats including 8 recliner business class seats in a 2-2 layout and 156 economy class seats in a 3-3 layout.
The aircraft’s first commercial flight, aptly operated using the flight number MU9191, took passengers from Shanghai Hongqiao Airport to Beijing Capital Airport on May 28, 2023. The flight took off with 128 passengers onboard at 10:32AM and landed two hours later at 12:31PM.
Currently, the China Eastern C919 is deployed on two routes (four flights) each day:
- MU9189 from Shanghai Honqiao to Chengdu
- MU9190 from Chengdu to Shanghai Hongqiao
- MU5137 from Shanghai Hongqiao to Beijing Daxing
- MU5138 from Beijing Daxing to Shanghai Hongqiao
Once more airframes enter into service, the network of routes operated by the China Eastern Airlines C919 will expand. That said, it will still be primarily focused on domestic routes in China.
Future COMAC C919 Operators and Routes
While so far only two C919s have been delivered, the state-owned COMAC is certainly not short on orders, albeit mostly from Chinese airlines and leasing companies. The information about the exact size of the order book is conflicting, however, it appears to hover at around 1,000 airframes.
In addition to China Eastern Airlines, other major airlines from mainland China ordered the type; these include:
- Air China
- China Southern Airlines
- Hainan Airlines
- Hebei Airlines
- Joy Air
- Sichuan Airlines
The sole non-Chinese airline customer is GallopAir, a start-up airline from Brunei backed by Chinese investors. The airline ordered 30 aircraft from COMAC split evenly between the smaller ARJ21 and the C919. GallopAir is expected to launch operations in 2024 Q3. That said, chances are it will first receive the more readily available ARJ21s.
Once (or if) GallopAir gets to the point where it takes delivery of its first C919, it will likely be operated on routes between Brunei’s capital Bandar Seri Begawan and other major cities in Southeast Asia like Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta.
The second C919 customer outside China is AerCap, an Irish lessor, which ordered 20 airframes of the type. What airline customers it intends to deliver these aircraft to is not known. That said, they will likely be airlines outside China, extending the type’s footprint around the world.
Lastly, over a decade ago, Ryanair signed a memorandum of understanding with COMAC, expressing some interest in the C919. While anything coming to fruition out of that seems still far away (if it ever happens), I thought it would be worth mentioning it here nonetheless.
All in all, despite there being some interest in the C919 outside China, the vast majority of its current orders are from state-generated interest in the type’s home country. This combined with the fact that the type is yet to be certified in (and thus allowed to fly to) the rest of the world means that for the time being, the aircraft will continue being deployed solely on domestic flights around China.
Which routes in the second largest domestic air travel market in the world will follow China Eastern Airlines’ Shanghai – Chengdu route remains to be seen.
Summary
COMAC C919’s deliveries are going slower than originally planned. So far, only two airframes of the type that first flew in 2017 have been delivered. Both of those operate for China Eastern Airlines on domestic flights around China. The only scheduled route using the type right now is between Shanghai and Chengdu.
With about 1,000 orders, the type’s footprint is expected to expand considerably in the future. That said, while there are a couple of non-Chinese customers who ordered the C919, the vast majority of orders has been from Chinese airlines. Because of this, and the lack of certification outside China, the type is constrained to operating Chinese domestic flights for the time being.
First published on 2023/12/05. Last updated on 2024/01/10 with information about new deliveries and a new route.
