China’s first ever domestically developed airplane C919 took its first flight, from flying from Shanghai to Beijing, on Sunday. The China Eastern Airlines is set to challenge the hegemony of Airbus and Boeing over the international Airlines. The Chinese state-owned media termed the development as success and as a symbol of national pride.
A Challenge Foreign Rivals
According to the Chinese media broadcaster CCTV and other experts, the newly developed passenger jet is expected to rival the western airlines to break their dominance. The homegrown jet has much higher potential than Boeing 737 MAX and the Airbus A320, and is also expected to decrease China’s over dependance on western technology.
Breaking West’s Aviation Monopoly
During a cake cutting ceremony held before the flight took to the air, passengers were seen waving national flags on national television. Beijing Daily, the Chinese-owned news agency wrote “After generations of endeavor, we finally broke the West’s aviation monopoly”.
