China’s COMAC says C919 jet completes second test flight, making smooth return

China’s domestically developed C919 passenger jet completed its second test flight on Thursday, the jet’s maker said.

The narrow-body aircraft, which will compete with planes of Boeing and Airbus, is a symbol of China’s ambitions to muscle into a global jet market estimated to be worth $2 trillion over the next 20 years. It first flew on May 5.

“The plane has made a smooth return,” said a spokesman for its manufacturer, Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC).

COMAC said the plane flew at around 10,000 feet after taking off from Shanghai’s Pudong Airport at 07:22 am. It landed at 10:08 am.

The flight time was 166 minutes, COMAC said. In comparison, its maiden flight was 80-minutes long.

The C919 has so far announced orders for 730 planes from 27 customers, many of which are Chinese leasing companies.

On September 19, Agricultural Bank of China Financial Leasing Co Ltd became the first customer to make a second order for the C919 jet.

COMAC plans to produce six planes for test flights.

With a standard range of 4,075 kilometers, the C919 jet is comparable to the updated Airbus 320 and Boeing’s new generation 737 planes.

COMAC predicted Chinese airlines will need 8,575 new planes worth $1.21 trillion over the next 20 years as strong travel growth continues.

This was higher than a forecast by Boeing, which said the country’s airlines would spend $1.1 trillion on more than 7,000 planes for the period to 2036.