Air China, China Southern Ready for the C919

DALLAS — Air China (CA) and China Southern Airlines (CZ) are set to become the latest operators of the domestically produced COMAC C919 passenger jet, with deliveries scheduled for this week. These airlines will be the second and third in China to introduce the C919 into their fleets, following China Eastern Airlines, which began flying the jet on domestic routes in May 2023.

The C919 is China's first homegrown passenger jet, developed by the state-owned manufacturer Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC). It represents China's ambition to compete with Western aerospace giants Airbus and Boeing, especially in a market that has seen challenges such as aircraft shortages and safety concerns with Boeing.

Due to its capacity of up to 192 passengers, China sees the C919 as a competitor to the Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus A320neo. The aircraft has already garnered interest from the country’s three major state-owned airlines, with each placing orders for 100 jets. Overall, COMAC has received over 1,000 orders.

COMAC has been expanding its reach, with increased sales and production targets and efforts to market the C919 internationally, particularly in Southeast Asia and Saudi Arabia. The company is also developing a wide-body aircraft to compete globally.

Despite these advancements, COMAC still faces hurdles in gaining international market share. Key certifications from the United States and European Union are still pending, and the C919 must prove its fuel efficiency to compete effectively against established models from Airbus and Boeing. 

Nonetheless, COMAC aims to ramp up production to 100 aircraft annually by 2030 to produce over 1,000 jets by 2035. More over, COMAC has started to draft a new wide-body jet with the name “C939”.

The news was shared by the South China Morning Post (SCMP), based in Hong Kong, which stated that this was not a rebranding of the current C929 program, but a completely new airframe that would complete a series of three variants to suit the rapidly growing Chinese aviation market.