Chinese-made aircraft C919 marks two years of commercial operations, exceeds 2 million passengers

[corven]

Big Risk: availability of engines

The C919 uses CFM's LEAP engine

 

[Fatman17]

The C919 uses CFM's LEAP engine

What l meant was western sanctions. China needs to have its own powerplants

 

[corven]

What l meant was western sanctions. China needs to have its own powerplants

Don't worry, CJ1000 will get the airworthiness certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China this year or in the first half of next year. According to the chief engineer of Chengfei Engine Factory, the engine index is higher than expected.
The CFM engine is only used to get the EU airworthiness certificate faster.
The United States has now lifted sanctions on aircraft engines.

 

[Pakistanithinktank]

Embraer of Brazil has been most successful airplane maker since Airbus. But they seem to stay away from large planes.

Russians have built modern airliners but politics and poor after-market support means they remain restricted to Russia.

Russia’s Strategic Decline, here are the reasons:​

• Diminished Global Influence: Russia no longer holds the geopolitical sway it once did, largely due to self-destructive policies.
• Diplomatic Isolation: With only limited allies, Russia finds itself sidelined, even India is realigning toward Western engagement.
• Economic & Innovation Lag: Sanctions and systemic inefficiencies have stunted Russia’s technological progress; China is outpacing it in future-focused industries.
• Strategic Stagnation: Without reforms and meaningful global partnerships, Russia risks becoming reactive and irrelevant in shaping the future global order.

 

[That_Guy]

Embraer of Brazil has been most successful airplane maker since Airbus. But they seem to stay away from large planes.

Russians have built modern airliners but politics and poor after-market support means they remain restricted to Russia.

Russian airliners are not modern, and the last airliner they built (during the soviet era), had a significantly lower range than their previous version.

Their situation is so bad that they basically gave up on domestic airliner production, and bought Boeing and AirBus instead, until their invasion of Ukraine, which forced them to go back to building more of their shitty airliners.

 

[Watandar]

Russian airliners are not modern, and the last airliner they built (during the soviet era), had a significantly lower range than their previous version.

Their situation is so bad that they basically gave up on domestic airliner production, and bought Boeing and AirBus instead, until their invasion of Ukraine, which forced them to go back to building more of their shitty airliners.

They have made significant efforts to build modern airliners, however there are still engineering issues to be resolved and the real weakness is aftermarket maintenance and support. The Superjet customers complained Sukhoi was very difficult and slow to work with once the planes had been delivered but issues popped up during normal operations, like any airliner.

Yakovlev SJ-100 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Yakovlev MC-21 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[That_Guy]

They have made significant efforts to build modern airliners, however there are still engineering issues to be resolved and the real weakness is aftermarket maintenance and support. The Superjet customers complained Sukhoi was very difficult and slow to work with once the planes had been delivered but issues popped up during normal operations, like any airliner.

Yakovlev SJ-100 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Yakovlev MC-21 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Ah.

I learned something new today.

Thank you for correcting my mistake.

I was sure the last time they had a working development and production line of airliners was during the USSR.

 

[NGAD IS THE BEST]

Chinese-made aircraft C919 marks two years of commercial operations, exceeds 2 million passengers
By Dimsumdaily Hong Kong -8:32PM Thu May 29, 2025

29th May 2025 – (Beijing) The Chinese-built aircraft C919 celebrated its two-year milestone of commercial operation on Wednesday, with a total of 18 deliveries to major airlines including China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, and Air China. The aircraft has successfully carried over 2 million passengers.

Headquartered in Shanghai, China Eastern Airlines was the first global customer for the C919. To date, the airline has accumulated over 28,000 flight hours and transported more than 1.57 million passengers. In recent times, China Eastern Airlines has expanded its C919 services by inaugurating several new routes. Notably, on Sunday, the 18th, a new route connecting Shanghai Hongqiao to Shenzhen was launched, followed by another route linking Shanghai Hongqiao to Xiamen on the 25th. These new routes signify the commencement of commercial C919 operations at the airports of Shenzhen and Xiamen for the first time. With the addition of these two new routes, the C919 now operates on a total of 14 routes, connecting 12 cities.

The production capacity of the C919 continues to increase steadily. During a supplier conference in Xi’an, Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) unveiled a five-year production plan for the C919 spanning from 2025 to 2029. As per the disclosed plan, the production capacity for 2025 has been revised from the original target of 50 aircraft to 75 aircraft. Subsequent years show an increase in production capacity, with figures reaching 100 aircraft in 2026, 150 aircraft in both 2027 and 2028, and a goal of 200 aircraft by 2029.

https://www.dimsumdaily.hk/chinese-made-aircraft-c919-marks-two-years-of-commercial-operations-exceeds-2-million-passengers/#google_vignette

First make them 100% Chinese 45-60% is still foreign technology in it including engines, only you developed air-framed which is also based on A 319/20

 

[gambit]

To be fair, a lot of this is political, rather than safety.

Sure...

UK Civil Aviation Authority

The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the UK’s independent aerospace regulator, protects people and enables aviation. Provides guidance and services for passengers, pilots, aerodrome operators, airlines, commercial and general aviation operators, drone users, aerospace and spaceflight...

www.caa.co.uk

Aviation Safety

Aviation Safety

www.lba.de

Just a couple examples. Are you going to tell them they are being 'political'?

...and its not just jets, it's cars too.

There is a story that Bill Gates' Porsche 959 was not safety compliance so he has been paying $28/day fine for 13 yrs until the car was finally released. You do know that Porsche is Germany, right?

 

[gambit]

Russian airliners are not modern, and the last airliner they built (during the soviet era), had a significantly lower range than their previous version.

Their situation is so bad that they basically gave up on domestic airliner production, and bought Boeing and AirBus instead, until their invasion of Ukraine, which forced them to go back to building more of their shitty airliners.

So if the US do not allow Russian airplanes to land in US airports, is that political or technical?

 

[That_Guy]

Sure...

UK Civil Aviation Authority

The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the UK’s independent aerospace regulator, protects people and enables aviation. Provides guidance and services for passengers, pilots, aerodrome operators, airlines, commercial and general aviation operators, drone users, aerospace and spaceflight...

www.caa.co.uk

Aviation Safety

Aviation Safety

www.lba.de

Those links only lead to their respective front page, what examples are you talking about?

Just a couple examples. Are you going to tell them they are being 'political'?


There is a story that Bill Gates' Porsche 959 was not safety compliance so he has been paying $28/day fine for 13 yrs until the car was finally released. You do know that Porsche is Germany, right?

Sure, but context matters.

Why are you asking me if Porche is German, you brought it up.

 

[j_hungary]

Embraer of Brazil has been most successful airplane maker since Airbus. But they seem to stay away from large planes.

Russians have built modern airliners but politics and poor after-market support means they remain restricted to Russia.

That's because large plane is very hard to make.

When I say hard to make, I don't mean just making a plane, but you need to make it safe, fuel efficient, comfort, and also long-lasting.

Say what you will about Boeing, the one major selling point for Boeing is that their plane last a very long time, on average 20% more than Airbus (Airbus average 30-35 years airframe life vs Boeing 40+). There are still 1980-era Boeing 737s in service, while there are not many 1980-era Airbus flying in the air right now, if any.

Airline buys planes because of two things, fuel efficiency and long service cycle. Neither of which was something Brazil could get right, which is why Embraer had to make a narrow-body jet. They either had to invest a lot of R&D into both, or they were forced to compete with an inferior product. And I would say China wasn't even at the level Embraer is at the moment, unless China heavily subsidizes Chinese airline to buy and fly those 919s (Which would mean heavy subsidies), otherwise it won't make any impact on civilian aviation.

 

[Watandar]

That's because large plane is very hard to make.

When I say hard to make, I don't mean just making a plane, but you need to make it safe, fuel efficient, comfort, and also long-lasting.

Say what you will about Boeing, the one major selling point for Boeing is that their plane last a very long time, on average 20% more than Airbus (Airbus average 30-35 years airframe life vs Boeing 40+). There are still 1980-era Boeing 737s in service, while there are not many 1980-era Airbus flying in the air right now, if any.

Airline buys planes because of two things, fuel efficiency and long service cycle. Neither of which was something Brazil could get right, which is why Embraer had to make a narrow-body jet. They either had to invest a lot of R&D into both, or they were forced to compete with an inferior product. And I would say China wasn't even at the level Embraer is at the moment, unless China heavily subsidizes Chinese airline to buy and fly those 919s (Which would mean heavy subsidies), otherwise it won't make any impact on civilian aviation.

It's true that making a big and is very hard, but China is just getting started and something tells me your pooh poohing of their airplanes will be like world was pooh poohing their cars 20 years ago. Now Chinese cars, esp EVs are conquering the world.

I would also doubt your claim Airbus are not long lasting. Many airliners continue to live on as cargo planes. The original Airbus, the A300 from early 1970s is still flying as cargo.

Airbus A300 - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

The DC10 and MD11 also saw more service as cargo than airliners.

 

[RajaBaja]

The West will kneecap C919. Why does it take them so long to finalize he testing of CJ 1000?

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/28/business/economy/jet-engine-chip-software-exports-to-china.html

U.S. Pauses Exports of Jet Engine and Chip Technology to China​

President Trump has stopped some critical products and technologies made only in the United States from flowing to China, flexing the government’s power over global supply chains.

Listen to this article · 5:25 min Learn more

A model of the Chinese-made COMAC C919 passenger plane in Shanghai last year.Credit...Hector Retamal/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The Trump administration has suspended some sales to China of critical U.S. technologies, including those related to jet engines, semiconductors and certain chemicals.

The move is a response to China’s recent restrictions on exports of critical minerals to the United States, a decision by Beijing that has threatened to cripple U.S. company supply chains, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The new limits are pushing the world’s largest economies a step closer toward supply chain warfare, as Washington and Beijing try to flex their power over essential economic components in an attempt to gain the upper hand in an intensifying trade conflict.

The standoff could have significant implications for companies that depend on foreign technologies, including makers of airplanes, robots, cars and semiconductors.

These are old tactics. Behind the scenes in true sense, both US and China are essentially joined to the hip. These are old tactics that don't work anymore.

Trump during the trade war slapped tariffs. The Chinese BANNED the ENTIRE line of Rare Earth Minerals, that run the American innovation, whether in electronics, mobile devices, defense equipment, electric vehicles, components of every electronic product, these RRM's are used and China has 90%+ monopoly at least for the next 10-15 years and then down from 90 to 70%. So in a way, one party says "I'll stop you from making more jets', the other says "I'll stop your entire economy that runs on electronics". That's the reality. So beyond show offs, there are ways they work with each other.

 

[j_hungary]

China is just getting started and something tells me your pooh poohing of their airplanes will be like world was pooh poohing their cars 20 years ago. Now Chinese cars, esp EVs are conquering the world.

I would also doubt your claim Airbus are not long lasting. Many airliners continue to live on as cargo planes. The original Airbus, the A300 from early 1970s is still flying as cargo.

Airbus A300 - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Cargo is not the same as Pax Airliner, if we are talking about Cargo, then I can say even 1940s era Fairchild C-123 is still in service......

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairchild_C-123_Provider#Operators

There are more C123 currently in service than A300 cargo....

Passenger Operation means a lot of checks need to be done on it, and when you have checks, you aircraft gets taken out of service. Cargo flights have longer check hours between checks simply because you don't use them to hop around like you would, especially as a regional transport

Comparing Boeing 737-100 to 400 to Airbus A310 and A320 operation and you will see how big the difference is

List of Boeing 737 operators - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

List of Airbus A310 operators - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

List of Airbus A320 family operators - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

You are talking about A319/A320 level (1990 era) operation compared with Boeing 737-300 (first flight in 1979)

As for Chinese Aviation, it's not the same as car, and Chinese cars did not dominate the world; they dominate China (which numbers a lot), Chinese cars do not sell very well outside China and I digress as we aren't talking about cars here. Choosing a car is different than choosing a plane, especially when you are in the transport business. Because you need to consider how much you are going to put them in operation instead of just drive it when you want, each aircraft you purchase needs to fill a quota in order to have them make money for you, just "an airplane" is not going to be good enough to make money on, you need to consider a lot more parameters as I explained above to be able to break into the market.