COMAC

Creating a modern Chinese commercial-aircraft manufacturer

Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd., usually shortened to COMAC, is a state-owned Chinese aerospace manufacturer established in Shanghai on 11 May 2008. The company was created as the principal organisation responsible for China’s large commercial-aircraft programmes and for developing domestic capability in aircraft design, certification, serial production and long-term fleet support.

COMAC brought together organisations and expertise from several parts of China’s aviation industry. Its role is broader than final assembly: the company coordinates design institutes, manufacturing plants, flight-test organisations, customer support, supplier relationships and airworthiness work across the complete aircraft life cycle.

The regional-jet foundation

The development of China’s modern commercial-aircraft industry began before COMAC itself was founded. The ARJ21 regional-jet programme was launched in the early 2000s and later incorporated into COMAC. The first aircraft was rolled out in 2007 and made its maiden flight on 28 November 2008.

The aircraft received its Chinese type certificate in December 2014 and entered commercial service with Chengdu Airlines in June 2016. It gave Chinese engineers, manufacturers, regulators and airlines practical experience in modern jet-airliner development, production, certification, delivery and operational support.

In November 2024, COMAC renamed the ARJ21 as the C909 as part of a unified product-naming system. The aircraft is designed for short- and medium-range regional routes, with a typical capacity of 78 to 97 passengers and a published range of approximately 2,225 to 3,700 kilometres.

The C909 was developed with particular attention to high temperatures, plateau airports, crosswinds and short or narrow runways. It has also become COMAC’s first jet aircraft to enter regular service outside China, including operations in Southeast Asia.

The C919 enters airline service

The company’s best-known programme is the C919, a single-aisle passenger jet intended for the same broad market segment as the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 families. The programme was launched shortly after COMAC’s establishment.

The first C919 completed final assembly and was rolled out in Shanghai on 2 November 2015. It made its maiden flight on 5 May 2017, beginning a long flight-test and certification campaign involving several prototypes and test locations across China.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China issued the C919 type certificate on 29 September 2022. The first production aircraft was delivered to China Eastern Airlines on 9 December 2022, and the model completed its first commercial passenger service between Shanghai and Beijing on 28 May 2023.

Air China and China Southern Airlines later joined China Eastern as operators. This transition from one launch customer to several major airlines marked the beginning of broader fleet introduction and serial production.

The baseline C919 is designed for approximately 158 to 192 passengers and offers a published range of about 4,075 to 5,555 kilometres, depending on configuration. It uses digital flight controls, modern aerodynamic design and CFM International LEAP-1C engines.

COMAC has also presented concepts for a shorter C919 variant, a stretched variant, high-altitude adaptations and special-purpose derivatives. These projects are intended to broaden the family in the same way that Airbus and Boeing offer multiple lengths and mission profiles within their single-aisle product lines.

The C929 wide-body ambition

The C929 is COMAC’s planned long-range twin-engine wide-body airliner. COMAC describes the family as covering approximately 282 to 440 seats, with the baseline aircraft focused around the 280-seat market and a target range near 12,000 kilometres.

Earlier versions of the programme were associated with a Sino-Russian partnership under the CR929 name. COMAC now presents the project as the C929 within its unified product family. The programme remains in design and development and is intended for international and intercontinental services.

From aircraft development to fleet support

COMAC has built a customer-support organisation covering flight and maintenance training, technical publications, spare parts, engineering assistance, digital services and field support. As the C909 and C919 fleets expand, the company is shifting from development-led programmes toward repeat production and long-term airline operations.

The C909 and C919 have appeared increasingly at international aviation exhibitions and demonstration events. C909 aircraft operate with airlines outside mainland China, while the C919 has been demonstrated internationally and presented to potential customers and regulators.

By early 2026, COMAC reported that more than 200 C909 and C919 aircraft had been delivered in total. The two families had served more than 800 routes and carried more than 36 million passengers.

In June 2026, the first COMAC Business Jet, or CBJ, entered commercial operation. The aircraft is a C909 derivative with a configurable 12- to 29-seat interior divided into spaces such as meeting, reception, dining and rest areas.

From its establishment in 2008, COMAC has progressed from managing a regional-jet programme to supporting an operational regional fleet, delivering a certified single-aisle airliner and developing a future wide-body aircraft. Its long-term objective is a complete product range covering regional, trunk-route and long-haul commercial aviation.

COMAC aviation timeline

COMAC aircraft families

COMAC derivatives and specialised aircraft

Industrial and support ecosystem

Certification and international operation

The C909 and C919 currently depend primarily on certification by the Civil Aviation Administration of China. International acceptance is therefore closely connected to bilateral validation, local operational approvals and the regulatory requirements of each intended market.

The C909 has already entered airline service in several Asian markets. The C919 remains concentrated among Chinese operators while COMAC develops production, support and international certification experience.

How the COMAC aircraft families connect

COMAC aircraft detected by howmany.travel

howmany.travel connects aircraft reference information with individual aircraft identified through Mode S, ADS-B and related radio transmissions. COMAC fleets remain concentrated in China and parts of Southeast Asia, so detection frequency depends strongly on receiver location and data coverage.

COMAC aircraft models

Each model name links to the corresponding howmany.travel family page. Operational families are separated from aircraft and derivatives still in development. No production-list links are included.

Historical and predecessor aircraft

Modern and current aircraft

The former ARJ21 and current C909 are one continuous aircraft family and are not counted separately. Development derivatives are listed independently only to clarify their programme status.

Explore the outside world

Editorial notes

• COMAC’s official product pages provide the published capacity, range and milestone information for the C909, C919 and C929.
• COMAC reported in February 2026 that more than 200 C909 and C919 aircraft had been delivered in total.
• The first COMAC Business Jet entered commercial operation on 22 June 2026.
• Programme status is used instead of uncertain live production counts where official model-level totals are una
• howmany.travel is independent of Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd.

The C909 was previously marketed as the ARJ21. Both names should remain in model-page metadata, search terms and historical text so that older databases and current COMAC terminology can be connected.