MSGID: 2:292/854 163a3559
TZUTC: 0200                  
Airline China Eastern Airlines performed the first commercial flight on Sunday
with a C919 from the Chinese aircraft manufacturer Comac. The plane flew from
Shanghai to Beijing on Sunday morning.
 
There were more than 130 passengers on board. The aircraft is the Chinese
variant of the Boeing 737 and the Airbus A320, which means that Comac is
competing with American and European aircraft manufacturers.
 
Comac has been making airplanes for years, but until now has been a minor
player. The aircraft market for aircraft from about a hundred seats is divided
between Airbus and Boeing. The European manufacturer Airbus in particular has
been very active in the Chinese market in recent years because Boeing was more
affected by trade tensions between China and the United States and because the
American manufacturer had to ground the 737 MAX aircraft for a long time after
two crashes.
 
Comac has been developing the C919 since 2008 and presented the first
prototype of the aircraft in 2015. Although the C919 is made in China,
manufacturer Comac is dependent on Western companies for many parts, such as
the American General Electric and Honeywell and the French Safran.

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