New Milestone for China's Domestically-Produced Large Aircraft! C919 to Operate Its First International Commercial Flight

For the domestic large aircraft industry that the Chinese people have long been eagerly awaiting, a significant new operational breakthrough is about to be realized — the C919 is about to commence international commercial flight operations.

Air China's CA723/4 flights between Beijing Capital and Ulaanbaatar will officially switch to the domestically produced C919 large aircraft, marking the first time the C919 has operated a regular international commercial route since entering civil aviation service.

It is understood that the C919 has officially obtained its type certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China, though it has not yet received airworthiness certification from Europe's EASA or the US FAA.

China and Mongolia have established a mature bilateral airworthiness mutual recognition mechanism, meaning the C919 does not need to separately apply for airworthiness qualifications in Europe or the US to land and operate commercially at Mongolian airports, bypassing the European and American airworthiness barriers that had previously been widely feared.

According to civil aviation industry insiders, Air China has already used the domestic regional jet C909 on the Hohhot-Ulaanbaatar route for nearly a year, fully completing a trial run of the entire operational process for domestically produced civil aircraft in the region. Ulaanbaatar Airport has also accumulated fairly comprehensive experience in maintenance and operational support for domestically produced civil aircraft, which is fully sufficient to support the C919's daily operational needs once it begins flying there.

The C919's successful first step into international commercial flight marks the official breaking of the duopoly that Boeing and Airbus have firmly held over the global mainline airliner market for decades, ushering in a new development stage that includes China's self-developed large aircraft as an option, and providing airlines around the world with a third mature choice beyond European and American imported products.