Summary China Southern and Air China will receive its first C919 from at the same day on August 28. Air China features most spacious C919 cabin layout with 158 seats, 2-class configuration among China's big three. The first batch of C919 pilots from both China Southern and Air China have already obtained their type ratings.
Simple Flying has exclusively learned that next Wednesday, August 28, Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China ( COMAC ) will deliver its first C919 aircraft to both China Southern Airlines and Air China . This marks these two major Chinese central government-owned airlines as the second and third customers of the C919, following China Eastern Airlines . This milestone is significant not only for COMAC and the two airlines, but will also be major news for China's civil aviation industry and the entire nation.
The delivery ceremony will be held at COMAC's Pudong manufacturing base adjacent to Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG). High-level officials from COMAC, Air China, China Southern, and the Civil Aviation Administration of China ( CAAC ) are expected to attend. On August 3rd and 9th, China Southern and Air China's first C919 aircraft, respectively, conducted their first production test flights.
C919 cabin configurations Air China previously announced the cabin configuration of its C919 on its official website, featuring a two-class layout with 158 seats, including 8 business class seats and 150 economy class seats. This is known to be the most spacious cabin layout for the C919. China Southern's initial C919 aircraft will have a three-class configuration, with business class, Pearl economy class (premium economy), and economy class, totaling 164 seats.
China Eastern's seven delivered C919s all have a two-class layout with 164 seats, including 8 business class and 156 economy class seats. Seven C919s delivered so far The first C919 to be delivered to China Southern Airlines has the manufacturer serial number (MSN) 00018, while the first C919 for Air China has MSN 00019. These are the 12th and 13th C919 aircraft manufactured for customer delivery, with the first 11 C919 expected to all go to China Eastern Airlines.
As of now, China Eastern has received seven C919 aircraft. On March 1, 2021, China Eastern signed an order for five C919s , making it the first confirmed order for the program and establishing China Eastern as the launch customer. Before all five aircraft from the first order were delivered, China Eastern signed another order for 100 C919s on September 28 of last year.
On March 1 of this year, China Eastern received its fifth C919 aircraft, marking the first C919 delivery of the year and the completion of the first contract signed in 2021. Subsequently, on May 27 and July 29, China Eastern took delivery of two more C919s. The sixth aircraft received on May 27 also marked the start of deliveries under the second order of 100 C919s.
China Eastern Airlines is currently still the only operator of the C919, but not for long. Get all the latest aviation news right here on Simple Flying 100 C919 orders from Air China and China Southern each In the last week of April this year, two of China’s three aviation giants, Air China and China Southern Airlines, each confirmed orders for 100 C919 aircraft. It is worth noting that when the three major airlines announced their orders to the public stock market, they also disclosed the list prices of the C919 aircraft.
The pricing shows that China Southern and China Eastern both ordered the standard version of the C919, with a list price of $99 million per aircraft. In contrast, Air China ordered the extended-range version of the C919, with a list price of $108 million per aircraft , approximately 9% more expensive than the standard version. China Southern, like China Eastern, ordered the C919 basic version, while Air China ordered the C919 extended-range version.
From delivery to commercial operations After receiving its first C919 on December 9, 2022, China Eastern put it into commercial operation on May 28, 2023, nearly half a year later. Since then, the time from delivery to commercial operations for each aircraft has gradually shortened, stabilizing at around five days. China Eastern Airlines C919s Delivery Date First Commercial Operations Date Time Interval B-919A 2022 Dec 9 2023 May 28 170 days B-919C 2023 Jul 14 Aug 2 19 days B-919D Dec 8 Dec 13 5 days B-919E Dec 29 2024 Jan 6 8 days B-919F 2024 Mar 1 Mar 6 5 days B-919G May 27 May 30 3 days B-919H Jul 29 Aug 3 5 days Both China Southern and Air China have made relevant preparations to welcome their first C919 deliveries.
On July 10, according to the official WeChat account of the China Southern Airlines pilot team, the first batch of eight captains completed their C919 type rating training at COMAC, becoming the first group of pilots at China Southern to obtain the C919 type rating. On July 29, the first batch of 10 Air China pilots also completed their C919 type rating training at COMAC. The first batch of C919 pilots is in place, and the delivery of China Southern Airlines' first C919 is approaching.
In addition to pilot training, both airlines have collaborated with COMAC to ensure that preparations related to flight operation manuals, aircraft materials, and ground support equipment, as well as maintenance capabilities, are in place. According to the relevant regulations of the CAAC, after receiving the first aircraft of a new model, airlines must conduct a certain period of validation flights to ensure the safety and smooth integration of the new model into the airline's operational system. Therefore, after August 28, China Southern and Air China will be starting from the same point, competing to see who can become the second airline to put C919 into commercial operations.
What do you think about the operational prospects of the C919? If given the opportunity, would you specifically choose to fly on a C919 to experience it?.
