The recent domestic manufacturing of the regional jet by China—the Comac C909—performed its maiden international flight from China on July 1st, 2025. It’s almost nine years after the aircraft began commercial operations. The jet operated over the route between China and Mongolia, marking a new era in its operations.
With the C909 and the C919, the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, COMAC, so far is championing the development of domestically produced Chinese aircraft. Thus, it aims to break into more international markets. The recent update is also on rebranding C909—which carried over 24 million passengers—proving that Chinese-manufactured aircraft meet international aviation standards.
First International Flight in Nearly a Decade
Originally it was known as ARJ21, which entered commercial services with Chengdu Airlines on June 28th, 2016. After nine long years, the aircraft has started its international commercial operations from China (flight from Hohhot Baita International Airport) in North China’s Inner Mongolia to Chinggis Khan International Airport in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
The fleet was operated by Air China with C909—that’s registered as B605U. The report from Flightradar24 states that the aircraft departed Hohhot at 08:07 and landed in Ulaanbaatar at 10:10 local time.
The countability is of 74 passengers onboard—the flight was welcomed with a traditional water cannon salute. The aircraft has been in active service in China’s border areas like Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, and the northeast, but has now expanded into international territory directly from China. Speaking about the development, COMAC Chief Designer and Chief Engineer Chen Yong said,
“The C909 has achieved a breakthrough in the commercial operation of homegrown jetliners and explored a development path for their entire life cycle.”
C909 Begins Operations in China
Nine years ago, the first commercial flight—AJR21’s was operated from Chendgu Shunglia Airport to Shanghai. However, in November 2024, COMAC officially renamed it as ARJ21 as the C909. It’s China’s first short-to-medium range turbofan jet, which ensures a seating capacity of up to 97 seats.
According to COMAC, up to 166 aircraft have been delivered, are operating on over 700 routes, and have carried over 24 million passengers in the past nine years. The day it entered service in Xianjiang in June 2023, over 22 aircraft were deployed on over 120 routes, transporting over 1.3 million passengers. Coming up in June 2025, the aircraft will launch over four daily flights between Kashgar and Yining, coinciding with Xinjiang’s peak tourist season.
Recently, COMAC reported positive feedback from airlines like Chendu Airlines, which ensures the suitability of the aircraft in places like Xinjiang. The aircraft operated the inaugural international flight, which was built in June 2020. In fact, delivering to Air China in the same month, which configures 90 economy seats in a 2-3 configuration.
The ch-aviation: 149 C909s are within active services, while 16 others are inactive. The 380 more are yet to be delivered. So far, Air China is the top operator with 35 aircraft, followed by Chengu Airlines with 30 aircraft and China Eastern with 27. The operators also include China Southern, Shantou Airlines, China Express, Genghis Khan Airlines, Jiangxi Airlines, and TransNusa.
C909 and C919: Milestones in China’s Aviation Ambitions
The aircraft C909 serviced its first commercial international flight from China this month. In fact, it made inroads in Southeast Asia. In fact, it operated its first flight in Indonesia in April 2023, followed by operations on the Manado-Guangzhou routes, and is listed on the ch-aviation database.
Although the larger COMAC C919 has been in commercial service for just over two years. However, in December 2024, the aircraft carried almost 1 million passengers on various routes. The C919 performed its first commercial international flight in January 2025—its first service between Shanghai and Hong Kong.
So far, China is pushing to get the C919 recognized within the international aviation market. Meanwhile, the company hopes to get EU certification in the future and sell the jet to EU operators. This wholesome initiative is dependent on the US-China trade wars; it uses Western-manufactured CFM LEAP-1C engines. Although China aims to develop is focused on developing itw own powerplant for the aircraft.
