C919 Aircraft - "We may classify the aircraft by its cockpit. The first generation is the turboprop aircraft that have some basic functions. The auto-pilot function was introduced to the second generation of aircraft. The third generation aircraft saw the introduction of a flight management system (
FMS) and terrain awareness and warning system (TAWS). The Boeing 737 NG and 737 MAX all belong to this generation. The fourth-generation aircraft have the fly-by-wire (FBW) system," he explained. Narrow-body aircraft with 150 to 200 seats have been the most widely used planes in the global civil aviation market, and the C919 was designed and developed to meet the huge market demand for this type of planes, according to Qi.
C919 Aircraft
The single-aisle plane has 158 to 192 seats. About 60 percent of the planes in the global civil aviation industry, and 80 percent of the planes on the Chinese market, belong to this category in terms of the number of seats, according to Qi Xuefeng, general manager of the C919 project at the COMAC
. The Comac C919 narrowbody airliner flew for the first time on May 5, taking off from Shanghai for a 79-min. flight that took it to an altitude of 3,000 m (10,000 ft.). The flight achieved all test objectives, says Comac.
The aircraft adopts a 164-seat configuration that comes with a two-class cabin layout, including 8 business class seats and 156 economy class ones. In the economy cabin, the middle seat in each three-seat row is 1.5 cm wider than its neighboring ones, which offers more comfortableness.
"It will take up more than 70 percent of the commercial aircraft in China's civil aviation industry. We decided to make this kind of plane because it's the most in-demand product in the market," said Wu.
"To achieve real success, the C919 needs to go to the global market. For example, the first-generation of the Boeing 737, which is the B737-100, which was ordered by German airline Lufthansa, not an American airline. And for the
Airbus A320, its first order of 100 planes was made by U.S. carrier Northwest Airlines," Qiao said. Spun out of China's military aviation industry in 2008, Comac has announced close to 1,000 orders and options for the plane, mainly from domestic customers.
The first delivery, to China Eastern Airlines, is due to take place by the end of this year, according to the Financial Times. The C919 is no match in fuel efficiency or range for the newest versions of the Airbus A320 or Boeing's 737 family.
But the big worry for the western groups is that future iterations could make a large dent in orders from China. The country is on course to become the world's largest aviation market. Boeing predicts the country's airlines will acquire a total of 8,600 new planes over the next 20 years alone, FT said.
CEA, as the world's first airline operator for C919, boasts a fleet of nearly 800 airplanes. It has rich operational experience and enjoys comprehensive advantages. Passengers will soon be able to catch an early experience of the superior and reliable performance of the C919 with CEA.
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