China's first home-built passenger jet makes inaugural flight

China's first domestically produced passenger jet has completed its maiden commercial flight, marking a milestone in the nation's decades-long effort to compete with Western rivals in the air. China Eastern Airlines Flight MU9191 from Shanghai "Arrived smoothly" in Beijing just after 12:30pm on Sunday, about 40 minutes ahead of schedule, according to China's state-owned broadcaster CCTV. Beijing hopes the C919 commercial plane will challenge foreign models like the Boeing 737 MAX and the Airbus A320. The C919 took off at 10:32 a. m. from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, where COMAC and China Eastern Airlines are headquartered, and it landed two hours later at Beijing Capital Airport, the flight tracker app Variflight showed. The C919 made its first flight in 2017 after years of delays and has undergone numerous test flights since. From Monday, the C919 will operate on China Eastern's regular route between Shanghai and Chengdu, CCTV reported. State media hailed the handover of the first of the narrow-body jets to China Eastern as "An important milestone" for China's aircraft industry. Zhang Yujin, COMAC's deputy general manager, told Shanghai's state-backed digital newspaper The Paper in January that the company had taken about 1,200 orders for the C919. Asia and China in particular are key targets for the European manufacturer Airbus and its American rival Boeing, which are looking to capitalise on growing demand for air travel from the country's vast middle class.