BEIJING (Reuters) -China expects to reach annual production capacity of 150 domestically-produced C919 planes in five years, government-backed media The Paper said on Friday.
Zhang Yujin, deputy general manager of China's state-owned Commercial Aviation Corp of China (COMAC), the maker of C919, said the company had received more than 1,200 orders for the jet.
"The first orders are from China Eastern Airlines (NYSE:CEA), and at present a number of carriers are vying for our orders," Zhang said, adding that there would be "qualitative change" in terms of C919's production capacity.
COMAC delivered the first C919to China Eastern in December, and the maiden commercial flight is expected to take place in spring this year, according to state-owned Xinhua News Agency.
The plane, a rival to the Airbus A320neo and Boeing (NYSE:BA) 737 MAX single-aisle jet families, was certified by Chinese regulators for safe operations in September and mass production in November last year.