The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has awarded Comac’s C919 programme its production certificate, paving the way for mass production of the type.
The move comes about two months after the C919 – touted as China’s answer to the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 family aircraft – was certificated by Chinese regulators.
Shanghai-headquartered Comac, in a statement on 29 November, hails the “important milestone”, which comes more than three years since it first submitted an application for a production certificate.
The first C919 is set to be delivered to launch customer China Eastern Airlines, which has five examples on order. At this year’s Airshow China held in Zhuhai, seven Chinese lessors inked commitments for 300 C919s, providing the programme an orderbook boost.
The C919’s relatively shorter time between type certification and production certification compares to that of Comac’s other programme, the ARJ21.
The ARJ21, which began commercial operations in 2016, was certificated in 2015, but Comac only received the regional aircraft’s production certificate in 2017.
