Chinese airline receives first domestic long-range jetliner

BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese airline has become the first customer to take delivery of a long-range jetliner produced by a state-owned manufacturer set up to try to compete with Boeing and Airbus. The Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China’s C919 is part of the ruling Communist Party effort’s to transform the country into a creator of profitable technologies and reduce reliance on foreign products. The model delivered to China Eastern Airlines Ltd., one of China’s four major carriers, seats 164 passengers. The report by state television gave no details of where it would be operated. COMAC has announced 300 orders for the C919 from Chinese leasing companies and earlier said it had 815 orders from 28 customers, mostly Chinese.