01:12
China debuts potential Boeing-Airbus rival as its biggest air show kicks off
China’s C919: orders fly in for home-grown passenger jet at the country’s biggest air show
- The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) has secured orders from seven local leasing firms for 300 of its C919 planes
- Comac has said it plans to deliver the first of its narrow-body passenger jets to China Eastern Airlines by the end of this year
Chinese passenger jet manufacturer Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) has secured orders from seven leasing firms for 300 of its narrow-body C919 planes, a little over a month after it was certified to fly.
The state-owned company made the announcement at China’s biggest air show in Zhuhai on Tuesday, adding it had also received orders for 30 ARJ21, a short haul 90-seater passenger jet.
Comac has said it plans to deliver the first C919 passenger jet to China Eastern Airlines by the end of this year. The Shanghai-based airline ordered four of the aircraft in May at a cost of US$99 million each.
What is China’s home-grown C919 aeroplane, and why is it important?
Yang Yang, deputy general manager of sales and marketing at Comac, told the Shanghai-based news portal The Paper that the company will plan its production capacity for the C919 after it has “fully communicated with the airlines”.
Earlier on Tuesday, the narrow-body passenger jet took to the skies at the China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition – its first appearance at the biennial air show, which also featured military aircraft such as the J-20 stealth fighter and YU-20 aerial tanker.
The C919 circled through cloudy skies over the southern city of Zhuhai before touching down in front of hundreds of onlookers who had turned out for the event, despite a resurgence of coronavirus outbreaks in the nearby city of Guangzhou.
Although China’s economy is still struggling to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, in July several state-owned airlines including Air China and China Southern Airlines placed a bulk order of nearly 300 passenger jets from Airbus – a blow to Boeing which has not been able to expand sales since 2018.
China has high hopes that the C919, its first home-grown passenger jet, will reduce dependence on foreign technology as ties with Western countries deteriorate.
01:05
China’s first home-grown passenger jet is certified to fly after 5 years of tests
However, most parts used for the C919 are imported from foreign manufacturers, including the engine, avionics, control systems, communications and landing gear.
Aviation is among the sectors in advanced technology negatively affected by deteriorating China-US relations.
The plan is a central component of President Xi Jinping’s vision for China’s long-term security and development.
