China's domestically produced large aircraft C919 will operate its first international passenger flight, officially joining the route between Beijing and Ulaanbaatar, capital of Mongolia.
According to reports from China Central Television (CCTV) and IT Home, as the first regular international passenger route for the C919, this service will be operated by Air China (CA), with one round-trip flight daily starting August 12.
According to the flight schedule, outbound flight CA723 will depart from Beijing Capital International Airport at 3:00 PM Beijing time and arrive at Chinggis Khaan International Airport in Ulaanbaatar at 5:15 PM local time; return flight CA724 will depart Ulaanbaatar at 6:30 PM local time and arrive back in Beijing at 8:35 PM Beijing time.
The Beijing-Ulaanbaatar route has a long history, dating back to 1958. Currently, the route is jointly operated by Air China and MIAT Mongolian Airlines. Before the C919 is put on this route, Air China had already operated the international route from Hohhot to Ulaanbaatar with the domestic regional aircraft C909 in July 2025.
The opening of the Ulaanbaatar route marks a step for the C919's commercial footprint from domestic and regional routes in China to the international market.
Previously, the C919 had already accumulated operating experience on regional routes. On New Year's Day 2025, China Eastern Airlines first deployed the C919 on the regular Shanghai Hongqiao to Hong Kong flight; in November of the same year, Air China also began regularly operating the Beijing to Hong Kong route with the C919.
Since accepting its first C919 in August 2024, Air China has now received 12 C919 aircraft, accomplishing a leap from single aircraft validation to a fleet of ten within a year and a half. Its network now covers more than a dozen destinations in China, including routes from Beijing to Shanghai, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Wuhan, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Xi'an and more.
The C919 is China's first domestically developed short- and medium-range narrow-body passenger jet built to internationally recognized airworthiness standards, making its maiden commercial passenger flight in May 2023. By the end of April 2026, the C919 had operated more than 42,000 commercial passenger flights in total.