China Set to Deliver Airliner in 2022, Challenging Boeing and Airbus

It’s not a stretch to say that the sky is owned by just two companies, Airbus and Boeing, with both of them supplying 99% of large plane orders in the world. But that could change with China getting ready to deliver their own home-built jet.

The state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) is targeting to launch the C919, a narrowbody passenger jet that would compete with the Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus A320neo, sometime this year. The Financial Times reported last July that about US$72 billion has been invested into the development of the C919.

Production began in 2011 and the twin jet successfully completed its maiden flight in 2017. However, a 2022 delivery deadline does seem a bit improbable considering that it is not yet certified to fly by the country’s aviation regulator, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). The C919 has to undergo 276 test flights to receive the certification – it has only completed 34 of them as of December 2021.

The pandemic contributed to the delay, which was also exacerbated by the policies imposed during the Trump Administration which required additional licensing for companies on the Military End-User List, restricting the export and transfer of products and technologies for nearly 60 Chinese companies, including two COMAC subsidiaries. And about 60% of the parts used to build the C919 are sourced from the USA (hey, it’s a start) by companies such as General Electric and Honeywell.

But there is certainly demand, especially domestically, as COMAC has already received over 1000 orders—300 firm and 700 provisional—for the C919. This could finally be the start of the end of the duopoly of the skies.