Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (Comac), a government controlled aerospace manufacturer, announced plans to build a new commercial aircraft they’re calling the C919. The 168-190 seat airplane, will compete with Airbus’s A32X and Boeing’s 737 series. Comac said their new airplane will “surely be cheaper” than the competition. Yet, how likely is the airplane to succeed?
Comac said they plan to market the single-aisle aircraft locally before going overseas to directly confront Airbus and Boeing. Chen Jin, head of Comac sales, said the aircraft will use as much as 15 percent less fuel than current Boeing 737′s and Airbus A320s. “Our home market is the biggest market and has the most potential, so it’s unnecessary to pursue overseas sales just yet,” Chen said. “In the future though, we will surely go into Europe and the U.S.”
Chen said the company’s first customers will likely include: Air China, China Southern, and China Eastern.
Boeing estimated that China will need 3,710 new planes over the next 20 years – 70 percent of those are expected to be single-aisle.
The first test flight for the aircraft is scheduled for 2014, with deliveries starting in 2016.
Relying on the Chinese to build commercial aircraft raises eyebrows, as they have yet to prove that they can build reliable and safe aircraft. As you may know, Airbus established a final assembly line in China not too long ago.
Last week, Boeing President and CEO Jim McNerney already had a say in Chinese manufacturing:
“A customer needs to see an enterprise that will not only serve them but will have the wherewithal to keep improving the product, and that is what the Chinese will have to eventually overcome before they sell a lot of these to a lot of customers.”
It will be interesting to see who buys the aircraft. Comac will likely get a solid amount of orders from the Chinese carriers, which could lead to its success, but what about global success? I doubt we’ll see the plane in the U.S., but who knows? I’m not sure many Americans would feel comfortable flying a China-built airplane. We trust them with our sneakers and shirts, but it’s a whole lot less fatal when a shirt or shoe breaks.
Feel free to share your thoughts on the new airplane. Would you fly on it?
4 Comments
October 26, 2009 at 2:11 PM
noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
October 26, 2009 at 2:12 PM
i cant believe in it(c919)
January 15, 2010 at 11:42 AM
I can’t rely on my dvd or vcr to work for more then a year or two, no way am I going to risk my family on a china made plane. While they may be able to make electronics cheap, the key word there is “cheap”…
January 29, 2010 at 12:42 AM
@Robert
you have no idea what you are talking about.
The airplane is basically a US/EU designed plane with 80% of parts sourced. The avionics are from honeywell, the landing gears from goodyear, engine from CFM leap X project.
The plane would also have to pass FAA regulations making them equivalent in safety to what’s offered on the market.
Basically A320 and 737 are three decade old designs. The C919 with newer aerodynamic design with better engines would likely offer quite substantial fuel savings and carbon foot print.
PS. No offense but unless you are rich enough to own a private jet, you have absolutely no say in what plane you fly in.
Cheers mate