New Chinese Airplanes

​The first Chinese-made airplane with passengers flew from Shanghai to Beijing on Sunday. The C919 plane was made by a company called COMAC. China's president called the C919 a "triumph of Chinese innovation". Newspapers called it "a symbol of skill and national pride". A passenger said: "The flight was extremely smooth and comfortable". He said he would remember it "for some time to come".

​COMAC hopes to compete with companies like Boeing and Airbus. It started developing the C919 in 2008. In September 2022, it was passed to fly commercially in China. COMAC plans to build 150 planes each year for the next five years. It has orders for more than 1,000 C919s from Chinese airlines. It hopes to get international orders. COMAC said its airplane was an "important milestone" for China.