China passes a flying milestone but remains in the grip of Boeing-Airbus

Every year, millions of flights take off and land in China, almost all with aircraft from Boeing and Airbus, the two largest aircraft manufacturers in the world. China has been working for years to change that, and this week it celebrated a milestone in that quest: the first commercial flight of a major airliner made in China.

The C919 jet, made by Comac, a Chinese state aviation manufacturer, has flown about 130 passengers from Shanghai to Beijing for China Eastern Airlines, according to Chinese state media. It is currently the only C919 aircraft used for commercial flights.

Comac, or the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, was founded in 2008. It is based in Shanghai and is closely associated with Avic, the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, which makes the country’s turboprops, fighter jets, and bombers. The C919 is a narrow-body aircraft similar to the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320.

Aviation experts said China faces stiff competition from the deep-seated rivalry between US-based Boeing and Airbus, a European company with national ownership interests held by France, Germany and others. The two have dominated aircraft sales worldwide for years.

Speaking to reporters this week at a Boeing plant in North Charleston, SC, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun called the C919 a “good plane” that will eventually meet domestic demand in China, but said it will be “long It will take time for the country to build up enough production capacity to meet those needs.

Mr Calhoun spoke from a room overlooking a handful of twin-aisle Boeing 787 jets being readied for customers around the world, including Air China, the country’s main airline. He said he believed the Comac C919 would eventually be able to meet the demand for domestic flights in China. He was convinced that the world market could accommodate a third major manufacturer.

“Three providers in a growing global market of this size and scale shouldn’t be the most intimidating thought in the world,” he said.

China remains an important market for Boeing and Airbus.

Last year, about 42 percent of more than 4.1 million scheduled domestic flights in China used Boeing aircraft and 54 percent Airbus aircraft, according to Cirium, an aeronautical data provider.

Airbus, which entered the Chinese aviation market in 1985, said in April it would build a second assembly line at its factory in China and was given the green light to proceed with orders for 160 aircraft. It has about 2,100 aircraft in service in China.

Of the approximately 10,000 aircraft Boeing has delivered worldwide over the past two decades, nearly 14 percent have been shipped to customers in China.

Boeing’s sales in China have suffered in recent years. Commercial flights aboard Boeing’s 737 Max resumed in China in January, about two years after the aircraft returned to service around the world, including in the United States, and about four years after the Max was banned worldwide following two fatal crashes that killed 346 people. people.

Mr Calhoun said Boeing would support the country as more Chinese residents began flying again as the economy recovered from strict Covid restrictions. But recurring tensions between China and the United States mean Boeing’s relationship with China will evolve in fits and starts, he said, adding that there would be plenty of business for Boeing either way.

“What is life without China? It turns out that life will be fine. It’s not the way we want it, but it’s going to be okay,” he said.

He added: “We have to stay focused on the competition we have and try to win that technology race. And while we do that, we keep ourselves in competition with regard to whatever China ultimately does.

Comac relies heavily on US and European suppliers to make the C919, including the engine and many components needed to power and fly the aircraft. The company has said it plans to eventually make 150 C919 aircraft a year, though analysts are skeptical of Comac’s production capability, especially after years of delays in the aircraft’s production.

The C919 has yet to be certified for use on international flights, but over time could meet a growing demand in China for single-aisle aircraft for domestic flights. According to Herman Tse, an analyst at Cirium, China is expected to need some 4,800 single-aisle jets, such as the C919, for regional travel by 2030.

If the company succeeds in increasing production of the C919, he said, Comac could become a popular choice for Chinese airlines and capture a share of the market, but it would still lag behind Boeing and Airbus.