(Yicai) Aug. 12 -- Air China will deploy a C919 on its Beijing-Ulaanbaatar route starting today, marking the first time China's domestically developed large passenger jet will operate a regular international commercial passenger service.

The carrier will operate one C919 round trip a day between Beijing Capital International Airport and the Mongolian capital, extending the aircraft's operations beyond Chinese mainland routes and services to Hong Kong.

The Beijing-Ulaanbaatar flight will depart at 3.00 p.m. today. Mongolia was selected for the C919's first regular international passenger route partly because the country recognizes China's civil aviation airworthiness standards, Yicai learned.

The C919 is a large jetliner developed by Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, a state-owned aircraft manufacturer. The first aircraft was delivered to China Eastern in December 2022, and made its maiden commercial flight in May 2023.

The regular service launch marks another step in expanding the C919's commercial operations after its fleet and route network grew rapidly in China in the first half of this year.

Before this, C919 aircraft operated by China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines had flown to Singapore and Dubai for static displays and test flights. China Eastern and Air China have also launched C919 services between Shanghai and Hong Kong and between Beijing and Hong Kong, respectively.

C919 Fleet Expands

As of the end of June, 40 C919 aircraft had been delivered, including 17 to China Eastern, 11 to Air China, 11 to China Southern, and one to COMAC Express.

The C919 operated on 52 domestic routes in the first half of this year, with the number of flights increasing month by month, according to statistics from flight information provider Flight Master. The aircraft operated more than 3,600 flights in June alone, more than doubling from a year earlier.

The C919's overall utilization rate reached 6.4 hours a day in the first half, with each aircraft averaging 3.2 takeoffs and landings per day, approaching the level of the Airbus A320, a mainstream narrow-body aircraft.

China's domestically developed regional jet C909, formerly known as the ARJ21, began operating on the Hohhot-Ulaanbaatar route on July 1, 2025, providing experience for the regular commercial operation of China-made aircraft in Mongolia.

The C909 has also entered service in Southeast Asian markets including Indonesia, Laos, and Vietnam. According to data previously released by COMAC, the C909 has operated on 25 overseas routes connecting 28 cities and carried more than one million passengers.

Editor: Emmi Laine