Air China completes first international flight with a COMAC C909

Air China on Tuesday completed the first international flight with one of its COMAC C909s, a 90-seat regional jet developed in China.

The route chosen by the airline was between Hohhot Baita, in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, and Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, which until then had only been operated by MIAT Mongolian Airlines.

Initially developed with support from Western companies, the C909 (formerly ARJ21) became the first commercial aircraft produced in China on a large scale.

There are currently 166 aircraft in service, 35 of which are operated by Air China. According to COMAC, the fleet has already transported more than 24 million passengers on around 700 routes during its nine years of operation.

While the larger and more modern C919is yet to see its production volume increase, the state-owned manufacturer has invested in the C909 to open up new business as a cargo variant.

But it is in the search for foreign operators that COMAC is most dedicated. There are currently three airlines outside China flying the regional jet: TransNusa, from Indonesia, LAO Airlines and VietJet Air, the latter through wet leasing.

Air China has been one of the biggest supporters of COMAC aircraft and it could not be otherwise since both are controlled by the government of Xi Jinping.

In addition to flying the C909 and C919, Air China has also assumed the position of launch customer for the C929, the first widebody fully developed in the country and which is still in the final design phase.

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