Air China C909 makes international debut flight on Mongolia route

An Air China C909 aircraft prepares for departure from Hohhot Baita International Airport in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia autonomous region on Tuesday. (TAO RAN/FOR CHINA DAILY)

An Air China C909, a domestically developed regional aircraft, arrived in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on Tuesday morning, marking the first international flight of Air China's C909 and a further extension of the model's commercial network.

The flight also indicates a new operational phase of the domestically built aircraft's operation of international flights with the national flag painted on the body.

After departing from Hohhot Baita International Airport in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, the plane landed in Ulaanbaatar after over one hour of flying. The airport welcomed the jet with a traditional water cannon salute.

The C909, which has between 78 to 97 seats and a flying range of 2,225 km to 3,700 km, has been in commercial operation for nine years. So far, 166 C909 planes have been delivered to domestic and overseas carriers, and they have together operated on over 700 routes, handling over 24 million passenger trips, according to its manufacturer Commercial Aircraft Corp of China.

"We are promoting the serialization of the C909, including derivative models such as the C909 cargo aircraft, medical rescue aircraft, emergency rescue command aircraft and business aircraft," said Chen Yong, chief designer of the C909 and chief engineer of COMAC.

COMAC officially renamed the domestically developed regional jetliner ARJ21 as the C909 in November 2024. The aircraft's three overseas carriers are Lao Airlines, Vietjet Air and Indonesia's TransNusa Aviation, according to COMAC.

"The commercial operation network of domestically developed aircraft in the international market has been further extended, and the overseas marketing of domestically developed civil aircraft has taken substantial steps forward," said Lin Zhijie, a civil aviation industry analyst.

State-owned carrier Air China has operated the C909 model for five years, and today, the airline's C909 fleet size has reached 35.Relying on three major operating bases in Beijing, Hohhot and Chengdu, Sichuan province, the carrier's C909 currently operates on over 30 routes and the number of daily scheduled flights has exceeded 100.

Air China said it would continue to promote the large-scale operation of the C909 and the single-aisle C919, and actively participate in the research and development of the C929 wide-body aircraft. The airline is expected to become the world's first carrier to operate the C929.

China's civil aviation market has experienced rapid growth so far this year and transported 190 million passenger trips in the first quarter, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

By 2043, China will overtake North America and Europe to become the world's largest market for aviation services. By then, China is expected to have 11,160 aircraft in service, of which 9,520 are new deliveries, European aircraft manufacturer Airbus said in its latest global services forecast.