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 C919 plane made by Commercial Aircraft Corp. is part of the ruling Communist Party’s efforts to transform the country into a creator of profitable technologies and reduce reliance on foreign products. State TV says the model delivered to China Eastern Airlines Ltd., one of China’s four major carriers, seats 164 passengers. It gave no details of where it would be operated. The company earlier said it has 815 orders for the C919 from 28 customers, mostly Chinese.