China’s First Large Homemade Passenger Jet to Fly in 2017

Many years in the making, China’s first large homemade passenger jet will fly in the first half of 2017.

State-owned aircraft maker Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China Ltd., or Comac, based in Shanghai, has nearly completed work on the 175-passenger C919.

The aircraft is scheduled to enter service in 2019, to compete with the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737. Comac has 517 orders for the C919.

In 2016, the ARJ21-700, China’s first homemade regional jet, made its debut flight carrying 70 passengers.