First international route featuring China's homegrown C919 jet launched

BEIJING - China on Wednesday launched the first international route featuring its homegrown C919 aircraft, connecting Beijing with Ulaanbaatar, capital of Mongolia, according to Air China.

Air China flight CA723 took off from Beijing Capital International Airport for Ulaanbaatar at around 3 pm, marking the latest milestone in the C919's commercial operation since its maiden commercial flight on May 28, 2023.

The C919 is China's first self-developed trunk jetliner in accordance with international airworthiness standards and registered with independent intellectual property rights.

Air China currently operates 12 of these aircraft. The C919 jet is also operated by China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines.

As of Aug 10, the C919 had served 57 routes linking 25 cities and handled more than 7.5 million passenger trips, said the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd, the jet developer.