The first Chinese airliner, the C919, manufactured by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), recently made its first trip outside China to appear at the Singapore Air Show. This event marks a significant development in the global airliner market that could potentially disrupt the industry in the coming years.
COMAC launched the C919 in 2007, representing China’s ambition to be a major player in the aeronautics industry, capable of building a civil aircraft from scratch, similar to the United States and France. Despite the C919 bearing a resemblance to the Airbus A320 from the 1980s, and currently only being certified in China, COMAC plans to invest tens of millions of euros in the next 3 to 5 years to upscale the aircraft and increase production capacities. Initially, COMAC aims to produce 150 units per year, a figure that pales in comparison to Airbus’ target of delivering 75 A320s per month by 2026.
China Eastern Airlines has been operating the C919 on a commercial route between Shanghai and Beijing since May 2023.
With Airbus and Boeing struggling to increase their production to meet the demand for new aircraft, and Boeing facing manufacturing crises, COMAC’s C919 becomes a potential alternative for airlines. Aviation Consultancy, a specialist firm, noted a growing trend among customers to consider the C919 in their fleet assessment.
Before the Paris Air Show in June, Airbus projected that the growth in global air traffic and airlines’ drive to replace their planes with less CO2-emitting aircraft will lead to a doubling of the global fleet in the next 20 years. Airbus expects a demand for 40,850 new passenger and cargo planes by 2042.
Importantly, the growth in air traffic is expected to be concentrated in Asian markets, particularly China. Between 2023 and 2042, Chinese domestic traffic is expected to increase 3.3 times, while Indian domestic flights should increase by 5 times. In contrast, growth in “mature” markets like the US and Europe will be less, with a 1.4 and 1.3 increase respectively. Airbus predicts that over 8,400 aircraft will be destined for China, with 84% being single-aisle aircraft. It is likely that COMAC will secure a significant portion of this market.
