On August 22nd, China Southern Airlines posted on its official Weibo account a countdown video for the introduction of its first domestically produced C919 large aircraft, which is due to arrive next week. It is reported that China Airlines will also receive its first C919 on the same day.
China Southern Airlines revealed that the catering on the C919 will incorporate elements of Lingnan culture, offering 24 meal sets including Cantonese-style main meals and Cantonese morning tea. Cultural and creative products for the inaugural flight of China Southern Airlines' C919, such as souvenirs, aircraft models, badges, and other are also ready. In addition, the first batch of elite pilots and cabin crews have completed their conversion training and the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) C919 ground simulation operational tests.
In mid-July, Air China's first C919 was scheduled for exterior painting, which was done in nine days. The aircraft completed its first test flight on August 9th. Earlier, Air China's official website released the seating layout for the C919, featuring a total of 158 seats in two classes, including 8 in the business class and 150 in the economy class, which is currently the most spacious C919 cabin layout.
The delivery of C919 aircraft is accelerating. It is reported that the eighth C919 for China Eastern Airlines will also be delivered. As the first C919 user in the world, China Eastern Airlines currently owns seven C919 aircrafts. Since successfully commencing commercial operations with the C919 on May 28th, 2023, China Eastern Airlines' C919 fleet has completed 3,133 commercial flights as of August 3rd, carrying nearly 420,000 passengers. These flights operated on five regular routes: Shanghai Hongqiao to Chengdu Tianfu, Shanghai Hongqiao to Beijing Daxing, Shanghai Hongqiao to Xi'an Xianyang, Shanghai Hongqiao to Guangzhou Baiyun, and Xi'an Xianyang to Beijing Daxing. With more C919 aircrafts in service, China Eastern Airlines plans to add new routes from Shanghai to Wuhan, Shenzhen, etc. and has initiated performance evaluations for Shanghai-Kunming and Shanghai-Lanzhou routes, preparing technical analyses for the feasibility of operations on high-altitude routes.
Editor丨Liao Ying, Zhang Yuan, Nancy Ye, Nina, James
Photo | Nanfang Plus
