The Chinese-made C919 passenger jet will make its first scheduled international flights next month in a significant milestone for the country’s ambitions to become self-sufficient in aerospace.Planes, operated by national carrier Air China, will start flying between Beijing and the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar on August 12, making one flight from each city every day, according to state news agency Xinhua.China Eastern Airlines started using the plane on the Shanghai-Hong Kong route in January last year, while Air China began operating the C919 on its Beijing-Hong Kong service in November.Produced by the state-owned manufacturer Comac, the single-aisle plane is China’s alternative to Boeing and Airbus’s narrowbody jets that currently dominate the commercial market.The massive state-backed effort to develop the plane was approved in 2007, with the first aircraft rolling off the production line in Shanghai in 2015.
China’s C919 passenger jets to enter service on first international route
Air China’s daily flights to and from Mongolia mark an important milestone for the country’s efforts to end reliance on Western-built planes.
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