(Yicai) Sept. 20 –- China Southern Airlines became the third airline to complete a commercial flight using a C919 China-made large passenger plane.

China Southern flight CZ3539 took off from Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and landed at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport yesterday before returning to Guangzhou. The same C919 jet will also run the Guangzhou-Hangzhou route, a representative from the carrier said.

The C919 developer Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China delivered China Southern's first such plane on Aug. 28. The airline expects to receive two more jets by the end of this year and start running more routes, including one from Guangzhou to Beijing Daxing International Airport, once it receives them.

China Southern joins the other two big Chinese state-owned carriers -- Air China and China Eastern Airlines -- in operating C919 jets. China Eastern was the first to receive the aircraft in December 2022, with its fleet having grown to seven since.

The C919 is also seeking a certification from the European Union. An EU Aviation Safety Agency delegation conducted an on-site inspection of the plane in Shanghai in July as part of its compliance verification process, leaving "positive feedback."

Gu Xin, director of the Shanghai Aircraft Airworthiness Certification Center, said earlier that he hopes "the C919 will obtain EU certification next year."

The C919 has already made several international flights. After participating in the Singapore Airshow and performing flight demonstrations in February, it ran demonstration flights or static displays in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Indonesia, laying the groundwork for future expansion in the Southeast Asian market.

The C919 has accumulated over 10,000 flight hours on more than 3,700 commercial flights with over 500,000 passengers since its commercial launch on May 28 last year, according to COMAC.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev