China enters commercial jet aircraft market

The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd (Comac), a Chinese state-owned aerospace manufacturer, entered the commercial jet aircraft market when it manufactured the 78-90 seater C909 regional jet (previously the ARJ21 regional jet).

Established in May 2008, Comac’s headquarters are in Pudong, Shanghai, and it designs and manufactures passenger jet aircraft.

In 2008, it launched its C919 narrow-body jet-aircraft development programme. The C919 can seat up to 168 passengers, with a range of 3,000-3,500 nautical miles.

Production began in December 2011, and the C919 was put into commercial passenger service in May 2023, with China Eastern Airlines.

In 2023, Comac announced the development of both a shortened and a stretched version of the passenger jet, similar to the sub-variants of the competing Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus A320neo family.

Other Chinese aerospace companies have also entered collaborative ventures with Canadian and American counterparts.

In 2017, Bombardier Business Aircraft, in collaboration with the Tianjin Airport Economic Area (TAEA), announced the opening of a state-of-the-art service centre in Tianjin,. It uses the same processes and procedures that govern Bombardier’s worldwide network of service centres.

The Tianjin Service Centre offers maintenance, repair, overhaul and associated activities and services which complement the Bombardier Business Aircraft support network in Asia.

Jean-Christophe Gallagher, vice president and general manager at Bombardier, says, “Bombardier Business Aircraft has had the largest fleet in Asia for the last 12 years… “This major investment…in collaboration with TAEA, demonstrates Bombardier’s commitment to strengthen its presence in China, as well as its confidence in the future of the aviation industry in the region.”

Zhao Xuesen, vice president of TAEA, agreed, saying the joint venture with Bombardier “shows the vitality of the Tianjin aviation industry and consolidates Tianjin’s position as an emerging aviation hub in China.

“The movement of business aircraft reached 1,528 at the Tianjin Airport in 2016, a 17.36 per cent increase from the previous year…A rapid expansion of the business aviation industry can be anticipated in Tianjin.”

Tianjin Service Centre has certification giving it full authority and ability to do 96-month inspections for Challenger 600 series jets, and 120-month inspections for Global aircraft. The new maintenance facility will further strengthen Bombardier’s customer-support network in China.

Bombardier’s latest market forecast predicts approximately 1,100 business-jet deliveries destined for Greater China, South Asia and the Asia-Pacific regions over the next ten years.

With its portfolio of innovative aircraft, Bombardier Business Aircraft is well positioned to remain the market leader. As of 2016, approximately 280 Bombardier business aircraft were based in Asia.

Boeing has a long-standing partnership with China, spanning 50 years. In 1972, US president Richard Nixon’s historic visit to China led to the introduction of Boeing aircraft there.

Today, Boeing jets are the mainstay of China’s passenger air travel and cargo transport systems. China has a component role on every current Boeing commercial aeroplane model. More than 10,000 Boeing planes fly throughout the world with parts and assemblies built in China.

Boeing’s activity contributes more than US$1.5 billion annually to China’s economy, through procurement from Boeing’s extensive supply base, joint-venture revenues, operations, training and research and development investment.

Boeing Global Services Boeing forecasts China will need over US$545 billion in commercial services to support its fleet of planes, making it one of the largest services markets in the world. Major categories in the services forecast include maintenance, engineering and flight operations.

Boeing Shanghai Aviation Services Co Ltd – a joint venture with China Eastern Airlines and the Shanghai Airport Authority – is a maintenance, repair and overhaul centre in Shanghai, doing line maintenance, heavy maintenance and airframe modifications as well as upgrades for plane interiors, avionics and in-flight entertainment systems.

The 737-800 BCF (Boeing converted freighter) is completed in China, where e-commerce and global trade drive air cargo growth.

Boeing Shanghai Aviation Flight Training Co Ltd at Shanghai Pudong Airport provides training products and services for pilots, technicians and flight crews.

Chinese airlines that have ordered the C919 already have either the Boeing 737 or Airbus A320 in their fleets.

On January 4, 2024, Civil Aviation Administration of China expressed its intent to work with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency to validate the C919’s airworthiness certificate to meet European Union (EU) JAR Part 25 standards so that EU airlines can operate the C919 aircraft.

In June 2011, Comac and the Irish low-cost airline Ryanair signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a commercial jet aircraft in the 174-200-seat range to compete with the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320.

Comac aims to take a fifth of the global narrow-body market and a third of the Chinese market by 2035, with 2,000 sales in the next 20 years.

China considers the C919 a source of national pride.