China Southern's first group completes C919 pilot training

At the graduation ceremony, Yang Yuanyuan, former administrator of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), expressed his hopes for these new pilots. He stated that they should "...set lofty goals as engineer pilots, make every effort to advance the domestic civil aircraft industry, and become industry benchmarks promoting the development of domestic civil aircraft."

Gao Fei, Deputy General Manager of China Southern Airlines Group, emphasized ongoing commitments: "China Southern Airlines will continue to increase investment in safety, operations, and flight training, deepen cooperation with COMAC, and strive to build a platform for joint construction, governance, and sharing. Together we aim to open a new chapter in developing the domestic large aircraft industry."

Representing his fellow graduates at the ceremony was pilot Cui Wei. He remarked: "We will strive to enhance our professional capabilities... contributing to the development of the domestic civil aircraft industry with the strength of China Southern Airlines."

On April 29 this year, China Southern Airlines announced an order for 100 C919 large passenger aircraft with COMAC at a catalog price of USD 9.9 billion. This order made it China's last major state-owned airline to sign for this model.

China Eastern Airlines had previously placed two orders for a total of 105 C919s and received four before April 2024. Air China ordered an extended-range version while both China Eastern and China Southern opted for basic versions.

During its Q1 earnings briefing on April 30th this year, Han Wensheng—General Manager of China Southern Group—revealed ongoing communications with COMAC regarding their first C919 delivery expected in August.

As July progresses swiftly towards August’s anticipated delivery date—the completion by this initial group marks another milestone in integrating domestically produced commercial jets into mainstream Chinese aviation operations.