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China's C919 jet is set to make its first commercial flight outside mainland tomorrow to Hong Kong - just over a year after the plane entered domestic service with China Eastern.
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Planemaker Comac is trying to quickly break into a passenger jet market dominated by Western manufacturers Airbus and Boeing that has been strained by aircraft shortages and a Boeing safety crisis.
China Eastern charter flight MU7191 is scheduled to depart Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport in the morning and return in the afternoon, FlightRadar24 data shows.
It will carry around 100 students from Hong Kong, said China Eastern and Comac, with the latter in December flying a demonstration C919 to Hong Kong.
No further C919 flights to Hong Kong appear in available flight schedules.
Only six single-aisle C919s are in service with China Eastern on three mainland routes, but Comac has increased sales and production plans and has been marketing it to other countries, including the growing Saudi Arabian market.
Industry sources caution that Comac is a long way from making inroads internationally, especially without benchmark certifications from the United States or European Union, or more efficient planes.
Gu Xin, director of the Shanghai Airworthiness Certification Center, which is part of China's aviation regulator, said this month it hopes to gain certification from Europe's aviation regulator next year.
Comac says about 1,000 C919s have been ordered, nearly all from Chinese airlines and lessors. The big three state-owned carriers China Eastern, Air China and China Southern have each ordered 100.
The C919 competes against the Boeing 737 Max and Airbus A320neo jet families.
Shanghai-based China Eastern has trained around 60 pilots, 170 flight attendants, and 60 C919 maintenance personnel, it said.
