Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) has delivered the second C919 to China Eastern Airlines.
The manufacturer delivered the aircraft, now registered B-919C, on July 16, 2023, ferrying it from Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) to the city’s other airport, Hongqiao International Airport (SHA). The aircraft has previously been registered B-001K.
COMAC has been conducting flight tests with the aircraft for the past few weeks, with the airframe taking off and landing at PVG at least five times in July 2023 and four times in June 2023, per flightradar24.com records.
The aircraft flew for the first time on May 8, 2023, according to ch-aviation.com data.
“After entering the delivery stage, the pick-up team of China Eastern Airlines cooperated closely with the delivery team of COMAC to meticulously complete all the work such as aircraft appearance inspection, ground test, delivery test flight, bureau inspection, and document handover,” the manufacturer noted in a statement on July 16, 2023.
According to COMAC, the airline’s second C919 will enter service “in the near future”.
The Chinese planemaker delivered the first C919 in December 2022, with China Eastern Airlines showing off the aircraft, registered as B-919A, during a much-publicized delivery event. However, the aircraft did not enter commercial service until May 2023, when it returned to the air following an almost two-month hiatus between March 2023 and May 2023.
China Eastern Airlines has been utilizing the first COMAC C919 to fly between SHA and Chengdu Tianfu International Airport (TFU), with the aircraft operating no more than two daily flights since it was introduced into service on May 28, 2023.
Per the airline’s 2022 annual report, COMAC is scheduled to deliver a total of four C919s in 2023, including B-C919C. China Eastern Airlines has a total of five orders for the type.
