A small Brazilian cargo and charter airline is looking to become the first airline outside Asia to purchase aircraft from the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), a crucial first step for the Chinese state-owned company as it looks to break into a global industry dominated by Western manufacturers.
Total Linhas Aereas has been in talks with COMAC for months and the airline’s controlling partner Paulo Almada is set to visit the Shanghai-based company this month to discuss a potential order of as many as four C919 planes. Brazilian Senator Rogerio Carvalho of the ruling Workers Party, who took part in meetings with Total, described the potential deal as a “milestone” for Brazil. He told Reuters that Brazil would expect reciprocity for Brazilian plane manufacturer Embraer, which is keen to sell in China.
Since a joint venture in Harbin closed in 2016, Embraer has struggled to find new business in the world’s second largest economy. A deal inked last year to convert 20 aircraft into cargo planes with a Lanzhou-based partner, while encouraging, has not helped the company’s efforts to boost passenger jet sales in this key market.
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The C919, the first aircraft to be developed entirely in China, came into commercial service in China in May 2023. Positioned to compete with the Airbus 320 and Boeing 737, the C919 offers seating capacity ranging from 158 to 190, with an average flight range of around 4,000 kilometres and a maximum of 5,500 kilometres. Of the more than 1,000 C919 orders claimed by COMAC, though, all are from Chinese buyers.
While the potential move into the Brazilian market is a critical step in COMAC’s international expansion, it is not without its concerns. As PA Consulting Aviation Partner Carlos Ozores told Reuters, the C919’s “unproven reliability record and lack of support network in Brazil make it a very risky choice” for Total. However, COMAC said it could deliver the aircraft by March 2025, far sooner than the 2028 delivery timelines offered by Airbus and Boeing. Brazilian firm Embraer couldn’t deliver until 2026 and its passenger jets are smaller, with less than 150 seats.
COMAC is not immune to the supply chain constraints hobbling its competitors. It sources the engines, avionics, landing gear and hydraulic systems for the Chinese-designed C919 from Western firms, as its competitors do. But if the company can deliver in timely fashion on a deal with Total, the Brazilian firm’s gamble may silence sceptics and pave the way for COMAC to challenge the longstanding Western duopoly in aviation.
