The third C919 delivered in Shanghai

The third C919 is delivered to China Eastern Airlines on Saturday in Shanghai. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

The third C919, China's first self-developed narrow-body jet, was delivered to its first global customer China Eastern Airlines on Saturday morning in Shanghai.

Taking off from the Shanghai Pudong International Airport at 9:53 am and landing at the Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport, the jet officially joined China Eastern's aircraft fleet starting Saturday, according to the Shanghai-based carrier.

Coded as B-919D, the third C919 has the same cabin layout as the previous two jets, which has 164 seats, including eight seats in business class and 156 seats in economy class.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China issued corresponding certificates needed for commercial operation to the plane on Friday.

Launching its maiden experimental flight in 2017, the first-ever C919 was delivered to its first global customer China Eastern Airlines in Shanghai on Dec 9, 2022, by its manufacturer Commercial Aircraft Corp of China. After a successful maiden commercial flight conducted between Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport and the Beijing Capital International Airport on May 28, the first C919 is currently serving travelers between Shanghai and Chengdu along with the second C919.

In addition to the first five C919 jets purchased in 2021, China Eastern on Sept 28 inked a deal with COMAC to buy another 100 C919 aircraft, which is the largest single order in the history of the homemade jet C919.