China Eastern's COMAC C919 Will Make Its 1st Flight Out Of Mainland China (2024)

China Eastern Airlines has scheduled the first COMAC C919 commercial flights that will leave mainland China, with the Chinese-built aircraft already having visited Hong Kong in late 2023 on a display flight, which included a fly-over of the iconic Victoria Harbour.

First scheduled flights out of mainland China

As reported first by AeroRoutes, China Eastern Airlines has scheduled one-time flights with the type from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA) to Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) on June 1, 2024. The COMAC C919 should operate flight MU7191 and the return itinerary MU7192. Flightradar24 records showed that China Eastern Airlines had not previously used the flight code to operate the SHA – HKG route.

Photo: China Eastern Airlines

According to data from the aviation analytics company Cirium, the Chinese carrier currently has scheduled two daily itineraries from SHA to HKG in June, namely flight MU721 and flight MU5017. Both are operated by the Airbus A330-200 or A330-300 aircraft, which are configured with either 230 or 298 seats. Nevertheless, the flight would mark the first time that the COMAC C919 would operate a commercial flight out of mainland China since it was introduced into commercial service on May 28, 2023.

Taking delivery of the sixth COMAC C919

On May 28, the State Council of the People’s Republic of China announced that China Eastern Airlines received its sixth COMAC C919 aircraft, marking an acceleration of the commercial operation of the Chinese-built narrowbody aircraft.

According to the statement, this was the first out of 100 COMAC C919s that China Eastern Airlines had ordered in September 2023, with the airline being the only one to take delivery of the type globally. The sixth C919 landed at SHA following a short hop from Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) on May 28.

Photo:Aerospace Trek| Shutterstock

Wang Zhiqing, the chairman of China Eastern Airlines, was quoted as saying by the press release that the airline has managed to achieve a breakthrough in operating the COMAC C919 commercially, with the carrier gradually increasing its C919 fleet.

“We will further improve the operational efficiency and market competitiveness of the C919 aircraft so that the C919 can fly more steadily, farther, wider and better.”

Restricted to domestic operations

However, since introducing the COMAC C919 into commercial service, China Eastern Airlines has limited the type to operating domestic flights only, including initial flights from SHA to Chengdu Tianfu International Airport (TFU) and Beijing Daxing International Airport (PKX). By May 2024, the route network expanded to flights between SHA and Xi'an Xianyang International Airport (XIA).

Overall, the Chinese carrier has scheduled 40 weekly departures from SHA to PKX (seven weekly departures), TFU (19 weekly departures), and XIY (14 weekly departures), amounting to 6,480 weekly seats and 8.9 million available seat kilometers (ASK).

Photo: China Eastern Airlines

Nevertheless, the one-off flight on June 1 will not be the first time that the COMAC C919 has ventured out of mainland China. In December 2023, the Chinese-built narrowbody aircraft, which aims to compete against the Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX 8, visited HKG and Hong Kong.

In February 2024, COMAC brought the C919 to the Singapore Airshow, displaying the single-aisle jet to an international audience for the first time. Tibet Airlines, a China-based airline, ordered 40 units at the trade show, becoming the first airline to order the COMAC C919 in 2024.