Inaugural Flight to High-Altitude Airport! China Eastern Starts C919 Service on Shanghai–Lanzhou Route

SHANGHAI, Dec. 11, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On December 1, at 11:08 a.m., China Eastern Airlines flight MU9179 touched down smoothly at Lanzhou Zhongchuan International Airport, which sits at an elevation of 1,948.7 meters (6,394 feet). This landing marked the official commencement of regular commercial flights by C919, China's first domestically produced large civil aircraft, on the Shanghai-Lanzhou route. It is also the first time China Eastern Airlines has flow the C919 to a high-altitude airport.

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Since December 1, China Eastern Airlines' C919 aircraft has started operating one round-trip flight daily on the Shanghai Hongqiao-Lanzhou route. The specific flight information is as follows: The outbound flight, MU9179, departs Shanghai Hongqiao at 8 a.m. and arrives in Lanzhou at 11:15 a.m.; the return flight, MU9180, departs Lanzhou at 12:15 p.m. and arrives back at Shanghai Hongqiao at 2:50 p.m.

The C919's inaugural flight to Lanzhou represents a significant effort by China Eastern Airlines to expand the homegrown aircraft's operational network. Lanzhou is a transportation hub and a center of trade, commerce and culture in western China. The regular operation of the C919 to the city will not only offer passengers the opportunity to fly on a domestic jetliner, but also inject new momentum into western China's acceleration of opening up and industrial upgrading.

An official from China Eastern Airlines stated: "The successful inaugural flight of the C919 to Lanzhou has, on one hand, extended the aircraft's operational network to a key transportation hub in northwest China, creating a more comprehensive operational network for the domestically developed aircraft. On the other hand, the expansion of the network has enabled the accumulation of additional flight data for the C919, laying a solid foundation for the continuous enhancement of its performance."

At present, China Eastern Airlines operates a fleet of 13 C919 aircraft, serving 15 routes across 13 cities including Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Chengdu, Xi'an and Lanzhou. This has established a commercial operation pattern that "connects the East and West, links the North and South." Since its first commercial flight on May 28, 2023, the China Eastern C919 fleet has accumulated nearly 43,000 safe flight hours, operated over 17,000 commercial flights, transported more than 2.45 million passengers, achieving an average passenger load factor of more than 85 percent.

Source: China Eastern Airlines

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