The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) is set to deliver its narrowbody C919 passenger jet to two new customers today: Air China and China Southern Airlines. The pair will become the second and third carriers with Comac planes in their fleets, following China Eastern Airlines’ lead.
The Shanghai-headquartered, state-owned planemaker is also expected to deliver C919s to Suparna Airlines (a subsidiary of Hainan Airlines) and Brunei’s GallopAir by the end of the year, the South China Morning Post reports.
The ramped up production required to meet these supply contracts was a positive sign that Comac could eventually compete with Western aviation giants Boeing and Airbus, according to US-based aviation analyst Li Hanming. The C919 is pitted against Boeing’s 737 MAX and Airbus’ A320neo.
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“The [momentum] reflects growing capabilities to tackle production bottlenecks and coordinate with regulators and multiple suppliers and buyers for a quick turnaround between order and delivery,” Li told the Post.
To cope with increasing demand, Comac recently started building a second assembly line in Shanghai. However, an ambitious delivery plan of 150 C919s annually over the next five years depends on the company’s ability to source plane engines from a Western supplier – CFM International, a joint venture between France’s Safran and America’s GE Aerospace. That may be complicated by geopolitical tensions.
There’s still a long way to go before Comac will be able to compete with US-based Boeing and European Airbus on volume. In the first half of this year, Airbus churned out 229 of its A320neo aircraft, while Boeing produced 137 of its 737s.
