Chinese aircraft manufacturer Comac has reached a new milestone with its C919 passenger jet. An example operated by Air China has completed the model's first commercial international flight.

The flight was from Beijing to the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar. The C919 took off on Wednesday morning and landed about two hours later.

The premiere is an important step for state-owned Comac, which has the ambition to challenge Airbus and Boeing in the market for commercial passenger aircraft.

Wants to expand outside China

The C919 has so far been established primarily in the Chinese domestic market. A significant limitation to wider international expansion is that the model has not yet been certified by the US or European aviation safety authorities.

Comac is also still dependent on foreign suppliers for parts of its production.

– The production of the C919 is still heavily dependent on foreign suppliers, says Andreas Mischer, an analyst at Merics, according to CNBC.

The manufacturer has a growing order book, but the production rate is still significantly lower than that of Airbus and Boeing. In 2025 and so far in 2026, a total of 40 C919s have been delivered.

Comac aims to reach a production of 200 aircraft per year by 2029. However, according to Andreas Mischer, there is still a long way to go before the company reaches that level.

The first regular international flight with the C919 nevertheless means that the Chinese aircraft is now taking another step from a mainly domestic venture towards international traffic.

Source: DI.SE