China's homegrown C919 jet makes first international scheduled flight — but still runs on Western engines

China's domestically developed medium-range passenger jet, the C919, has entered international scheduled service for the first time, more than three years after its commercial debut in May 2023.

Air China operated the inaugural cross-border flight Wednesday, with the aircraft departing Beijing Capital International Airport in the afternoon and landing at Chinggis Khaan International Airport in the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar. China's state-run Global Times reported the jet left Beijing at 3 p.m. and touched down in Ulaanbaatar at 4:58 p.m. local time.

The aircraft received a water cannon salute upon landing — the highest ceremonial honor in international civil aviation.

The route operates under flight numbers CA723 and CA724, with Air China running one round trip daily.

The C919 is China's first domestically developed medium-range passenger jet, designed to compete with Boeing's 737 and Airbus's A320.

Air China received its first C919 in August 2024 and has since expanded its fleet to 12 aircraft. The jets have logged 12,000 safe flights and carried about 1.62 million passengers, according to the Global Times.

The C919 has also been making inroads in overseas promotion — it performed demonstration flights at the Singapore Airshow in 2025 and this year, and made its debut appearance at the Dubai Airshow last November.

A significant hurdle remains before the jet can fully enter foreign markets: international airworthiness certification. The C919 has yet to receive approval from either the European Union Aviation Safety Agency or the US Federal Aviation Administration.

Component dependency is another outstanding issue. The C919's engines are the LEAP-1C, manufactured by CFM International, a joint venture between US-based GE Aerospace and France's Safran. A substantial number of the jet's key systems and parts rely on Western suppliers.

China is developing a domestically made engine, the CJ-1000A, to replace the LEAP-1C, but it has not yet reached operational readiness.

The C919 seats between 158 and 192 passengers depending on cabin configuration, with a range of 4,075 to 5,555 kilometers.