China Eastern Airlines (CEA) is set to inaugurate its fourth commercial scheduled route for the domestically manufactured C919 aircraft, connecting Shanghai and Guangzhou this Friday.
Commencing on Friday, flight MU5309 will depart from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport at 9:30 a.m., arriving at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport at 11:55 a.m. The return flight, MU5316, is scheduled to leave Guangzhou at 1:30 p.m., reaching Shanghai by 4:00 p.m.
CEA stands as the sole carrier operating the C919, with its fleet now comprising six units. The introduction of this route increases the daily flight capacity between Shanghai and Guangzhou to 36, highlighting the robust connectivity between these two major cities.
The addition of the sixth C919 jetliner to the CEA fleet last month signifies the accelerated commercial operations of China's homegrown large passenger aircraft. This milestone comes one year after the inaugural commercial flight of the C919, as China aims to capture a share of the global civil aviation market currently dominated by Boeing and Airbus.
Over the past year, the C919 has been servicing three routes from Shanghai: to Chengdu Tianfu International Airport in Sichuan Province, Beijing Daxing International Airport, and Xi'an Xianyang International Airport in Shaanxi Province.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com