China's domestically produced Comac C919 passenger jet is scheduled to make its first international commercial flight on Wednesday, departing Beijing for Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, on an Air China service. The narrow-body aircraft — developed by the state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) as a rival to Boeing and Airbus jets of similar size — has operated on domestic Chinese routes since 2023, but this short cross-border hop marks its debut on an international route. Analysts are sceptical of the milestone's broader significance, noting that the plane relies heavily on Western components, has been delivered in far smaller numbers than targeted, and has yet to receive regulatory approval from European or American authorities, making a genuine challenge to the Boeing-Airbus duopoly unlikely for decades to come.