Made-in-China large passenger plane targets 2017 debut

Beijing

CHINA'S first homegrown big passenger plane will make its maiden voyage in the first half of this year, state media said on Monday, as the country seeks to challenge foreign giants Airbus and Boeing.

The C919 narrow-body jet is expected to "realise its blue-sky flight dream" in the first six months of 2017, the People's Daily newspaper reported, with the installation of onboard systems almost completed.