China is set to launch the maiden flight of its first homegrown big passenger plane in the first half of the year, which is expected to challenge Airbus and Boeing, the Straitstimes.com reported.
According to the report of the People's Daily newspaper on Monday, Feb. 6, the C919 narrow-body jet, built by the state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC), is set to make its first flight in the first six months of 2017, as the installation of its onboard systems is almost complete.
The plan's scheduled debut journey was originally set in 2015 but it was put off for another date since the plane had to go through additional testing and certification, the report said.
The plane represents China's efforts to reduce the country's dependence on foreign-made planes and compete directly against the two leading airplane manufacturers, the European maker Airbus and Boeing of the United States.
After spending more than a year assembling the single-aisle aircraft, which has 168 passengers, COMAC rolled off the first C919 in Nov. 2015.
The C919 is expected to compete with the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 in the lucrative aviation market. COMAC said in November that 23 customers had already ordered 570 units from them.
Western airplane manufacturers see China as a major market, with air travelers growing in number each year. In the next two decades, it is estimated that about 6,000 new planes, worth about $945 billion, will be needed by the country's airlines, according to Airbus' 2016-2035 Global Market Forecast.
Boeing, on the other hand, has an even more optimistic prediction at 6,800 aircraft worth $1 trillion.
Foreign aircraft companies have partnered with Chinese firms to gain favor although China is expected to challenge and eventually drove them out with its homegrown plane.
In Tianjin, Airbus has built a completion and delivery center for the domestic market. The company also buy parts from Chinese suppliers.
Meanwhile, Boeing plans to open a facility with COMAC for its 737 model planes.
Aside from the large passenger plane, COMAC has also developed the ARJ21, a smaller jet, which took its first commercial flight in June last year, the report said.