Aviation Memorabilia Newsletter

C919 Enters Service With Maiden Revenue Flight

China's domestically produced jet airliner went into revenue service on May 28, 2023, although it's a stretch to call it a Chinese aircraft.

The China Eastern Airlines C919 launched from Shanghai Hongqiao Airport with about 130 passengers (it seats 164) for Chengdu and will be assigned to that route. Government officials and state-run media all gushed over the accomplishment with confident predictions of a bright future for indigenous airliners in a market that is served entirely by Boeing and Airbus now. "In the future, most passengers will be able to choose to travel by large, domestically produced aircraft," state broadcaster CCTV said.

The plane is built by the state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), but it's more accurate to describe COMAC's participation as final assembly. COMAC builds the mostly aluminum airframe but CFM International supplies the engines and a Who's Who of Western aviation companies build the avionics, cabin systems and flight controls, among other things.

It will likely be more than a decade before China can produce an engine to replace the ultra-efficient LEAP-ICs. The company says it has 1,200 orders for the plane, most, if not all, from Chinese airlines.

Source: AVWeb.com

Air Inuit to Introduce Boeing 737-800's

Nunavik airline Air Inuit has announced that they will be replacing some of their old Boeing 737-200 series with more modern versions over the next 24 months. In a press release dated July 3, 2023 the airline said they will be acquiring three B-737-800's that will be modified through the installation of cargo doors to create combination passenger/cargo aircraft.

The airline currently owns five of the -200 series models which, although equipped with relatively inefficient and highly polluting engines, are capable of landing on gravel airstrips, still commonly found in Northern Canada. The newer models lack that capability.

The Quebec-based airline is wholly owned by Makivik Corporation. Both entities were created in 1978 to serve the interests of Quebec’s Inuit people. Air Inuit operates a fleet of 24 aircraft and flies to 21 destinations. Other than the Boeing 737's, the company also operates numerous Twin Otters and Dash 8's, which will be used to service destinations incapable of receiving the B-737-800's.

Source: CanadianAviator.com