China's C919 jet makes first international commercial flight

China's homegrown C919 jet completed its first international commercial flight on Wednesday, a symbolic step towards Beijing's goal of challenging the decades-long aerospace dominance of Boeing and Airbus. The narrow-body jet has been billed as a potential rival to Boeing's 737 or Airbus's A320, though it has yet to receive approval from American or European regulators.

Where did the C919's first international flight go?

The C919, produced by the state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) and operated by Air China, departed Beijing at 3:17pm (0717 GMT) on Wednesday. It landed in Mongolia's capital, Ulaanbaatar, at 4:58pm (0858 GMT), according to public flight data. Air China will run one round-trip flight per day on the route, Xinhua news agency reported in July.

Can the C919 compete with Boeing and Airbus?

Beijing hopes the domestically produced plane will reduce China's reliance on foreign technology and help it gain a foothold in the global market. The C919 is made in China but sources components from countries including the United States. Checking in for the flight at Beijing Capital International Airport, passenger Hu Yuan told AFP he felt "a sense of pride" flying an international route on a domestically produced plane. "I hope our domestic planes continue to improve in terms of comfort and overall passenger experience, even outperforming Boeing and Airbus," said the 40-year-old.

What is the history of China's C919 jet?

The C919 completed its first commercial flight in May 2023, flying from the Chinese financial hub of Shanghai to Beijing. Since then, it has been used regularly on domestic routes and between mainland China and Hong Kong. COMAC has also presented the jet at the Singapore airshow in 2024 and 2026, and at the Dubai airshow in 2025. The company has already entered foreign markets with its smaller C909 jets, which seat 78 to 97 passengers.