The C919 Commercial Airplane from China

China's presence in commercial aviation was largely absent until fairly recently when COMAC manufacturer developed the C919 airplane which began selling to airlines in 2011.

Given China's rapid technological evolution with competitive creations in several areas, including for example, electric vehicles and military equipment (including aircraft carriers), the July 27, 2024 issue of The Economist wonders whether China can smash the Airbus-Boing duopoly. The short answer to this question is ... not in the near future.

As the table below shows, the C919 is competent in its very popular class of short-haul airplanes, but it is not a class-leading airplane; it is less competitive in both passenger capacity and range. (Click on the table for a large format version.)

COMAC plans to be building 150 copies of the C919 in a year before 2030. These are barely enough to satisfy the demand in China's domestic market. The annual worldwide demand for this class of airplane is about 1800!

The C919 is Powered by two CFM LEAP-1C engines sourced from Europe.  Developing a Chinese engine to replace its CFM engines is a future endeavor that may take more than a decade.

COMAC depends heavily on government subsidies and faces significant procurement challenges. Only 14 of the 82 component suppliers are domestic. Its dependence on American and European components may be affected by tariffs or other restrictions due to political tensions with China.