A model of China's homegrown wide-body jetline, C929, is meeting the public at the ongoing second China Air Transport Association (CATA) Aviation Conference in Beijing, as the country keeps making strides in developing bigger commercial jets.
The twin-aisle jumbo jet, which is in the development stage, represents the state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC)'s efforts to break into the long-haul international passenger jet market, after it put the narrow-body C919 and regional jet ARJ21 into commercial operation.
The C929 can carry 280 passengers and fly as far as 12,000 km in one trip, which is roughly 1,000 km longer than the distance between Beijing and New York.
Models of the C919 and ARJ21 jets are also on display at the exhibition, which is part of the conference hosted by the CATA from Friday to Sunday.
"The C919 large passenger jet, since its delivery to China Eastern Airlines, Air China and China Southern Airlines, has entered the new operational stage featuring multiple users and multiple fleets. A total of 11 C919s have so far been delivered, which have accumulated a combined 13,000 flying hours and serviced 700,000 passenger trips. The C929 wide-body jets is in the phase of preliminary design and selecting suppliers," He Dongfeng, COMAC's board chairman, said at the opening ceremony of the conference on Friday.
At this year's exhibition, visitors have the chance of experiencing the fun of flying a plane, thanks to the VR-aided simulated cockpits presented by carriers like China Eastern and Hainan airlines, and an innovated pilot training solution showcased by China Southern for the first time.
"This training aid aims to enable a pilot a better command of the the operating procedure and navigation capability. Its research and development only cost us half of a year. With this success, we can cut down on our training costs by over 50 percent," Yang Lei, general manager of China Southern Group, told China Central Television in an interview.
In addition to the opening ceremony and the exhibition, the second CATA Aviation Conference also features industry forums on topics such as high-quality development of aviation transportation, innovation in smart civil aviation, civil aviation network and data security, and low-altitude economic development.
Model of homegrown jumbo jet C929 displayed at aviation conference in Beijing
