China is in the process of developing new facilities for COMAC in Shanghai, laying the foundations for the state-owned airframer to one day take on the global powerhouses.

A China Eastern subsidiary set up to fly Comac aircraft will serve coastal districts from the Yangzi River Delta and retain the business aviation operation on which it has been based, the parent company said.

Flight testing of the COMAC C919 has exceeded the designed cruise speed of the narrowbody airliner and reached its intended ceiling, with the fleet of six prototypes now complete.