Last month China conducted its first successful test flight of the C919 passenger jet.

The C919 passed over the Yangtze River Delta during its long-awaited maiden flight and conducted several mid-air tests before landing successfully at Shanghai Pudong International Airport in front of a large crowd.

“Seeing the C919 take off into the sky made me quite emotional,” said Wang Mingfeng, a witness to the test flight. “This is a moment we have waited to see for a very long time. I believe that in the not too distant future, we will be neck-and-neck with Boeing and Airbus.”

The 80-minute flight reached speeds of 180–186 mph carrying a crew of five pilots and engineers, even though the plane was not equipped with passenger seats during the test. When put into service, the plane is expected to carry 156–168 passengers.

The C919, built by Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, has China Eastern Airlines set as the launch customer. COMAC reports the jet has 570 orders from 23 customers for the C919, but the aircraft will undergo years of testing before it is certified in China and internationally.

While test flights have been pushed back twice since 2014 due to production issues, the aircraft is a symbol of China’s focus on making a splash in the international jet market — estimated to be worth $2 million over the next few decades.