Has China’s aviation industry taken off?

China’s aviation industry has taken an enormous step forwards with the unveiling of its C919 aircraft. The Chinese-built 158-seat passenger jet was presented in Shanghai to a crowd of about 4,000 on 2 November.

It is hoped that China’s first homemade passenger aircraft will compete with the European Airbus 320 and American Boeing 737.

The C919 (the C stands for China) was built by the Commercial Aircraft Corp of China, better known as COMAC. The standard range of the aircraft is 4,075 kilometres.

China has the fastest-growing domestic flight market, which will account for 1 billion passengers a year by 2034. It already boasts more than 20 airports, which exceed a 10 million passenger throughput each year. Domestic passenger traffic has seen an annual growth of 12% over the last decade. As it continues to grow, Boeing estimates that the Chinese market alone will need 4,630 new aircraft. COMAC says it has already accepted 517 orders from 21 foreign and domestic customers.

Those orders will have to wait, however, as the maiden flight of the C919 is scheduled for 2016, followed by about three years of test flights.

Have you read?
Which are the world’s best airports?
Is in-flight refuelling the future of air travel?
China or US: which is tomorrow’s superpower?

Author: Donald Armbrecht is a freelance writer and social media producer. 

Image: The first C919 passenger jet made by the Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (Comac) is pulled out during a news conference at the company’s factory in Shanghai. REUTERS/Stringer