©Reuters. A Comac C919 flies during an airborne display ahead of the Singapore Airshow at the Changi Exhibition Center in Singapore February 18, 2024. REUTERS/Edgar Su
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By Lisa Barrington
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – The Chinese challenger to Airbus and Boeing’s (NYSE:) passenger jets, the narrow-body C919 made by Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), has made its first trip outside China, staging a flight – Sunday at the Singapore Airshow.
China has invested heavily in trying to break the grip of the two dominant Western plane makers on the global passenger market.
China has indicated a push this year to advance the C919 and COMAC footprint domestically and internationally. The aircraft is certified only in China, and the first of the current four C919s began flying with China Eastern Airlines (OTC:) last year.
With Airbus and Boeing struggling to ramp up production and meet demand for new planes, and Boeing dealing with a series of crises, the aviation industry is watching as COMAC positions itself as a viable alternative.
COMAC will invest tens of billions of yuan over the next three to five years to expand C919 production capacity, Chinese media reported in January.
China’s aviation authority said last month it will pursue European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) validation for the C919 this year, a process that began in 2018.
The C919 was one of two commercial plane makers that flew their planes off the coast of Singapore alongside Airbus during Sunday’s preview of Asia’s biggest air show. Boeing will not display a commercial airplane this year.
COMAC has two passenger products: the ARJ21 regional jet and the larger C919 twin-engine narrow-body airliner with 158-192 seats, which competes with the established Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX 8 models.
The C919 made its first flight outside mainland China in December to Hong Kong. ARJ21s are used by Indonesia’s TransNusa Air.
Many within the industry warn that only four C919s are in service in China; the aircraft is certified only by Chinese regulators and the C919 relies on international supply chains.
However, the supply crunch across the aviation sector, which is challenging the expected full return and therefore growth of civil capacity in Asia, is attracting more attention from COMAC.
“We have also noticed a growing trend of customers including the C919 option in their fleet assessment,” said Adam Cowburn of Alton Aviation Consultancy.
Two C919s were delivered in 2023. Aviation consultancy IBA predicts that 7-10 C919s could be delivered in 2024.
“With Airbus and Boeing narrowbodies of the A320neo and 737 MAX families sold out for much of this decade, the C919 has a strong opportunity to gain market share, particularly in the domestic market,” said Mike Yeomans of aviation consultancy IBA .
“The immediate challenges for COMAC are manufacturing to meet local demand and certification to penetrate international markets,” Yeomans added.