The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), maker¹ of China's first domestically developed large passenger plane, is aiming to deliver its first C919 single-aisle jet to customers in 2021.

 

中国商飞——中国首架自主研发的大型客机制造商——计划于2021年向客户交付首架C919单通道客机。

 

Lu Zheng, COMAC's deputy general manager of sales and marketing², told reporters with Reuters that COMAC is working on gaining Chinese airworthiness certification for the C919 in three to four years, with U.S. and European certifications to follow.

 

Lu notes that the approval process "should not have any impact" on the timing³ of the delivery of the jet to China Eastern Airlines, the first customer for the aircraft.

 

COMAC has been speaking to U.S. authorities, and the certification process has already been started in Europe by the local aviation safety regulator, said Lu.

 

Reuters describes the C919 as "a symbol of China's civil aerospace⁴ ambitions and President Xi Jinping's push to upgrade manufacturing capabilities," saying it hopes to "compete with Boeing Co's 737 and the Airbus SE A320."

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