LONDON – The first set of images appeared of the first commercial COMAC C919 bound for China Eastern Airlines.

Such images have appeared on Western social media after originally coming from 航旅圈 on Weibo.

You can see below the two images in question:

The images show the first aircraft on the COMAC production line showing off the China Eastern Airlines livery on the tail and wingtip sections.

It also shows a neat little decal that states that this is the first COMAC C919 in the world.

According to data, China Eastern Airlines has five firm orders, with options for an additional 15, bringing the count to 20 overall.

It is understood also that this first unit will be bound to OTT Airlines, which is a subsidiary of the carrier, but the shots of the tail indicate otherwise.

OTT Airlines has a different livery to China Eastern Airlines, which you can see below as an example of one of their ARJ21 aircraft:

Therefore, it does appear that the order structure in itself has changed, which would make sense as China Eastern would want to showcase it on its mainline carrier first.

This is a developing story, and we will have more to follow as we get it.