COMAC C919

Digging deeper into high altitude airports around the World, it seem there are 20 such airports in China, one in Nepal and one in USA. And so far as I know, only 2 passenger aircarft type are tuned dedicately to high altitude airport operations, with additional certification to qualify for 14,000 feet airport operations.

And they are all owned by Tibet Airlines.

1. Airbus 319-100 Plateau and 319-NEO Plateau.
2. COMAC C909 Plateau.

With 20 high altitude airports in China, high altitude certified passenger aircraft's is in China, and C919-600 is specifically made for China's domestic operations.

The other 2 airports in Nepal and US are too small for passenger jets of C909/Airbus 319 size.

Other aircraft type can operated at high altitude airports with reduce loads, example a 140 seat passenger jet may have to restrict to only 100 passengers and use full runway lengths which could be as long as 3km to 4 km.

The 1st C919 delivered in 2026 (and 33rd C919 delivered overall) to China Southern Airlines. Posted by @_p2p on Weibo.

A COMAC C919 airliner participates during an aerial display at the Singapore Airshow, February 3, 2026. /VCG

The biennial Singapore Airshow opened its tenth edition on Tuesday at the Changi Exhibition Centre, featuring a high-profile flight demonstration by the C919 narrow-body jet.

Developed by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), the aircraft's appearance in the city-state marks a significant push by the Chinese manufacturer to position itself as a viable alternative to the long-standing Boeing-Airbus dominance in the global aviation market.

Spectators at the event witnessed the C919 perform aerial maneuvers over the sea, a logistical necessity for this year's show as takeoff and landing operations are separated from the primary display airspace.

The aircraft, designed to seat between 158 and 192 passengers, boasts a range of up to 5,555 kilometers. COMAC representatives highlighted the jet's modern cockpit ergonomics and enhanced cabin environment, which features reduced noise levels and improved air filtration systems aimed at competing with the latest generation of Western-built airframes.

In addition to the flight display, COMAC has established a strong presence in the static exhibition area. The lineup includes a standard C919 and two versions of the C909 regional jet – a medical evacuation variant and a commercial model operated by the Indonesian carrier TransNusa.

This marks the Southeast Asian debut for the C909 medical aircraft, which is configured for ophthalmic surgery and emergency patient transport, signaling COMAC's intent to diversify its offerings beyond standard commercial transport.

The strategic focus on Southeast Asia is evident as the company seeks its first major customers outside of the Chinese domestic market. To date, the manufacturer has delivered more than 200 aircraft across its C919 and C909 platforms, which have collectively carried over 36 million passengers.

While the C919 is the flagship intended to rival the Boeing 737 Max and Airbus A320neo, the smaller C909 has already made inroads in the region, with nine units currently in service across Indonesia, Laos and Vietnam.

The Singapore Airshow will run through February 8, with the first four days reserved for industry professionals and the final weekend open to the general public.

ying1978 said:

Interesting looking tail cone. Are those sensors and drag chutes just for flight test or simply a massive APU exhaust?

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They must be the APU exhaust and intake and they are the same size as on the operational C919. The original place of exhaust is simply blocked. Further more I'd guess the one on top is the exhaust, the one below is intake because usually intakes are covered when parked.

The red circled panel is the hatch for usual intake.


Opened intake hatch when parked.

This person claims from China Eastern data from 2025 January that the C919 has an hourly cruise fuel burn of 2.26t/hr which is surprisingly good if true and compares favourably with 737M8 but on the other hand C909's hourly fuel burn of 2.07t/hr is very high and uncompetitive with western alternatives like CRJ900.

Tomboy said:

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This person claims from China Eastern data from 2025 January that the C919 has an hourly cruise fuel burn of 2.26t/hr which is surprisingly good if true and compares favourably with 737M8 but on the other hand C909's hourly fuel burn of 2.07t/hr is very high and uncompetitive with western alternatives like CRJ900.

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To be fair, C909 is China's very first (somewhat) successful venture into the commercial airliner market, so it's kinda understandable that the C909 is behind its competitors (A220, E-Jet E2, and SSJ100) when no significant effort has been put forth to improve the model since its introduction (probably due to low amount of orders).

Either way, I do kinda hope that COMAC will come up with an A220-counterpart sometime in the future, when their hands are less tied.

ACuriousPLAFan said:

To be fair, C909 is China's very first (somewhat) successful venture into the commercial airliner market, so it's kinda understandable that the C909 is behind its competitors (A220, E-Jet E2, and SSJ100) when no significant effort has been put forth to improve the model since its introduction (probably due to low amount of orders).

Either way, I do kinda hope that COMAC will come up with an A220-counterpart sometime in the future, when their hands are less tied.

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COMAC founded in 2008 and ARJ-21 first prototype rolled out from assembly line in 2007. it was the project of SAIC and later on COMAC took over.

ARJ-21 was an experimental project in order to to enter commercial aircraft industry and learned how to build commercial airliner. and all these flight data are justified. its very well known.

C919-600 is the answer to A220 with seating capacity of 140 to 160.

sunnymaxi said:

C919-600 is the answer to A220 with seating capacity of 140 to 160.

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Not really, -600 is a high plateau optimised variant. They need a new true regional jet to go against the SSJ and E-Jet E2 family not a A318 type thing.

Tomboy said:

Not really, -600 is a high plateau optimised variant. They need a new true regional jet to go against the SSJ and E-Jet E2 family not a A318 thingy.

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you mean a clean sheet design ? not possible right now considering COMAC is very busy with other projects.