SINGAPORE—COMAC’s initial production C919 took flight for the first time on May 14 as the narrowbody nears entry to commercial service after years of delay. 

The aircraft—MSN007—took off from Shanghai Pudong at 6:52 a.m. local time. After a 3-hr. 2-min. flight, the aircraft returned to the airport. 

According to COMAC, the “pilot and engineers accomplished all the pre-set tasks, and the aircraft was in good condition.” 

Bearing the registration B-001J, the first C919 is destined for China Eastern Airlines. The Shanghai-based carrier is the type’s launch customer after placing firm orders for five C919s in March 2021. China Eastern expected to receive the first aircraft by the end of 2021 but delays in certification have forced the C919’s entry into service back to late 2022. 

Meanwhile, China Eastern issued a stock exchange notice on May 10 expressing plans to raise 15 billion yuan ($2.2 billion) for the acquisition of 38 aircraft consisting of four C919s, 24 COMAC ARJ-21s, six Airbus A350-900s and four Boeing 787-9s. 

Notably, the filing revealed the prices of the C919 and ARJ-21 for the first time. The C919 cost $99 million each while the ARJ-21 are $38 million per aircraft. The $99 million price tag from state-owned COMAC is nearly twice the $50 million estimate industry analysts had expected and puts the aircraft close to its Western peers. The list price for a Boeing 737-8 is $121.6 million while the list price for an Airbus A320neo was $110.6 million in January 2018. 

The relatively high price of the C919 makes the aircraft less competitive against its Western counterparts, although it is widely accepted that Chinese airlines could get concessions from local airports and airline authorities when the type is deployed domestically.

Powered by a pair of CFM Leap 1C engines, the C919 first flew in 2017.