Bruce Einhorn And Dong Lyu Bloomberg

China's first airliner designed to compete with Airbus and Boeing is off to a slow start. After the fanfare surrounding the C919's maiden flight in May, the single-aisle plane didn't fly again for four months and the two test aircraft have only made about two dozen flights since, well below the normal schedule for a new commercial jet.

China's first airliner designed to compete with Airbus and Boeing is off to a slow start. After the fanfare surrounding the C919's maiden flight in May, the single-aisle plane didn't fly again for four months and the two test aircraft have only made about two dozen flights since, well below the normal schedule for a new commercial jet.