China Eastern takes delivery of second C919 aircraft
The second C919, China's first self-developed narrow-body aircraft, was delivered to China Eastern Airlines on Sunday.
The second C919, China's first self-developed narrow-body aircraft, was delivered to its operator, Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines, on Sunday morning.
It took off from Shanghai Pudong International Airport at 10:06am, and arrived at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport at 10:20am, to join the domestic jetliner team of China Eastern.
It is the second of the five C919 aircraft that China Eastern purchased from C919's developer, Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC). The carrier is also the jet's first operator globally.
The aircraft obtained relevant certificates for commercial flights issued by the Civil Aviation Administration of China on Friday.
The inside view of the second C919 aircraft.
The first C919 was delivered to the airline last December. It finished its first passenger trip between Hongqiao airport and Beijing Capital International Airport in late May.
The first C919 is currently flying the route between Shanghai and Chengdu, southwestern Sichuan Province. And the new plane, with the same cabin layout, will fly the same route.
As of July 12, the first C919 had carried out a total of 87 commercial flights, including two trips on the Beijing-Shanghai route and 85 trips on the Shanghai-Chengdu route, with an average occupancy rate of nearly 80 percent. It has served a total of 11,905 passengers during its total 250.1 hours of flight.
Currently, China Eastern has eight qualified captains, 46 cabin crew members, 16 maintenance personnel, and a logistic support team with over 100 people to fly with and maintain the C919. There are also 21 pilots and a group of support personnel undergoing qualification training, according to the airline.
