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China’s Comac C919 to fly its first commercial international route
The first international use will route from Beijing Capital to Ulaanbaatar, marking a new stage for the narrow-body jet that has already flown domestically since 2023.
China’s Comac C919 is scheduled to make its first commercial international flight on Wednesday, with the narrow-body jet set to depart Beijing Capital International Airport and land in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, just over two hours later. The aircraft is made by the state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, or Comac.
The C919 has been operating on domestic routes since 2023, but Air China’s Beijing-to-Ulaanbaatar service will be the first time the plane is used on a commercial international route. The Guardian Business notes that the flight is being positioned as part of China’s effort to build a Western-style aircraft alternative in global aviation.
While the jet has been billed as China’s answer to the Boeing-Airbus duopoly, analysts cited by the outlet say it could take generations before a Chinese aircraft could meaningfully challenge Western dominance. Scott Kennedy, a senior adviser at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, called the move largely a public relations effort, and said Ulaanbaatar was likely chosen for its proximity to Beijing.
Kennedy also pointed to factors that could limit competitive impact, including that the plane was years overdue, includes Western components, and is less efficient than Boeing and Airbus equivalents. The story adds that China’s long-running push for an indigenous large commercial aircraft dates to the C919’s unveiling in 2015.