A C919 large passenger aircraft, China's first self-developed trunk jetliner, takes off from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport in east China's Shanghai, May 28, 2023.(Xinhua)
China now joins the elite club of Europe's Airbus and U.S. airplane manufacturer Boeing, which have long dominated the world's civil aviation market, Maletic noted.
ZAGREB, June 2 (Xinhua) -- The first commercial flight of the C919, China's self-developed large passenger aircraft, is a great success, which opens a new era for China and its civil aviation industry, Franjo Maletic, a Croatian political analyst, told Xinhua in an interview on Friday.
The successful maiden flight of the C919 shows that "China is capable of producing practically everything produced by the most developed countries in the world," Maletic said.
On May 28, the C919 commercial plane flew from Shanghai to Beijing. Accordingly, China now joins the elite club of Europe's Airbus and U.S. airplane manufacturer Boeing, which have long dominated the world's civil aviation market, Maletic noted.
A passenger displays a boarding pass aboard a C919 large passenger aircraft, China's first self-developed trunk jetliner, from Shanghai to Beijing on May 28, 2023. (Xinhua/Ding Ting)
The fact that China has become involved in the production of sophisticated passenger airplanes shows the development of its civil aviation technology, Maletic said, adding that China, the second-largest economy in the world, should be congratulated for this "great success."
According to Maletic, the production of the C919 will boost domestic and international cooperation in the field, creating thousands of relevant jobs as well as win-win cooperation frameworks.
"Aircraft production is unthinkable without the perfect organization and cooperation of the many people and companies involved," he said, noting that in addition to Chinese companies, many foreign companies that join the process will also benefit from it.
Mutually beneficial international cooperation will lead to airplanes that are safer, better and more economical, more friendly to nature, Maletic added.
This photo taken on May 28, 2023 shows a C919, China's self-developed large passenger aircraft, getting ready for its first commercial flight in east China's Shanghai. (Xinhua/Ding Ting)
Since the launch of the C919 project in 2007, the aircraft has undergone a long journey of design, manufacturing, flight tests, and eventual commercialization. Nearly 300,000 people have participated in the process. The order numbers for the C919 currently stand at 1,061, according to the developer, the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. (COMAC).
China has a massive civil aviation market with great potential, and by 2041, it is expected to become the world's largest single-country civil aviation market, according to a forecast released by the COMAC last year. ■