Made-in-China regional jet starts commercial operation

Staff members in giant panda costumes celebrate the launch of regional jet ARJ21-700's commercial operation at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in Southwest China's Sichuan province on June 28, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

Now you can experience flying on China's first independently designed regional jet.

Chengdu Airlines became the first commercial airline to use the jet ARJ21-700 on Southwest China's Chengdu to Shanghai route on Tuesday, marking the official launch of the aircraft's commercial operation.

The plane, made by Commercial Aircraft Corp of China, was delivered to Chengdu Airlines in Nov 2015 after more than 5,000 hours of test flights and passing 398 certification procedures in seven years.