COMAC C919
- Thread starter Deino
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The flight CA1279 of Air China receives a water salute after arriving at the Nanniwan Airport in Yan'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, on June 24, 2026. Air China on Wednesday started using China's domestically-produced C919 jetliner on a new route linking Beijing with Yan'an of northwest China's Shaanxi Province. By far, Air China has opened a dozen of air routes from Beijing to old revolutionary base areas such as Jinggangshan, Zunyi and Yan'an, planning to offer 260 flights every week, to inject impetus into the development of these areas. (Xinhua)
Crew members of CA1279 of Air China pose for a group photo after arriving at the Nanniwan Airport in Yan'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, on June 24, 2026. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuwei)
Passengers of CA1279 of Air China arrive at the Nanniwan Airport in Yan'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, on June 24, 2026.(Xinhua/Zhang Yuwei)
Crew members of CA1279 of Air China serve for the passengers on the flight from Beijing to Yan'an, on June 24, 2026.
(Xinhua/Zhang Yuwei)
Crew members of CA1279 of Air China deliver souvenirs to passengers before the flight at the Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, capital of China, on June 24, 2026. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuwei)
The flight CA1279 of Air China flies past the Baota Mountain in Yan'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, on June 24, 2026. (Photo by Chen Xiao/Xinhua)
The 17th C919 for China Eastern Airlines (registration number B-65AK), said to be the first unit with enlarged cabin overhead luggage storage spaces. Posted by @9x9走向商业成功之路 on Weibo.
Saw one in Guangzhou, after my Sanya yo Guangzhou flight.
latest RUMINT says that CJ-1KA should already be installed onboard the first CXF prototype. AFAIK, installation of engines should be one of the final assembly processes meaning rollout theoretically shouldn't be far away.
Optimistically speaking, earliest I expect to see CXF would be Q3 2026 from the latest rumors but could also likely be pushed off to Q4 depending on progress.
CJ-1KA should be getting it's TC by the earliest in Q4 2027 but could also very likely slip to 2028 given how optimistic the timeline is currently. The engines installed currently are TC-only and hence will only be used for testing and certification though despite the name, the engine does in fact not have its TC yet.
Seems that they have a reason for wanting to go fast and have the technical confidence to push the testing timeline. C929 might just be fully indigenous at this rate.
Seems as if he refers to this one posted by @欧阳振我86468 ... even if the right engine is clearly a LEAP-1C, the left engine seems to be "strange" since it is in yellow primer!
I don't think so, he made it very clear that it'll be the CXF prototype to recieve CJ-1KA even for testing. This aircraft in the picture is the original C919 prototype and other than the fact one nacelle isn't painted, both engines look identical.
Should his claim on the C919 vs CXF be accurate (i.e., the CXF is a completely separate model from the C919 and will have its own TC, instead of being a mere fully indigenous variant of the C919), then I do wonder whether (or when) would Chinese airlines srart switching (at least some of) the orders for the C919 to the CXF, especially given the ongoing supply chain issues with (particularly) the LEAP engines.
Of course, in case future geopolitical development renders the continued sourcing of critical foreign-made components for the C919 impractical if not impossible, then I'd expect that all the order backlogs for the C919 will be entirely switched over to the CXF (once the latter obtains its TC, of course), alongside the archiving/cancellation of the project/production for the former.
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