Aircraft
Service Entry For C919 Remains Uncertain After First Flight
Now China's Comac is stepping up its alliance with Russia's UAC to develop a widebody airliner.
Comac's C919 narrowbody airliner made its long-awaited first flight in Shanghai on May 5. [Photo: Comac]
Comac's C919 narrowbody airliner made its long-awaited first flight in Shanghai on May 5. [Photo: Comac]

The long-awaited first flight of the C919 narrowbody airliner on May 5 restored some of the credibility lost in recent years by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac). The state-controlled airframer had promised to achieve a first flight in 2014, with service entry supposed to follow in 2016, and have never given an adequate explanation for a series of setbacks for the program since it’s launch back in 2008.