Air China, China Southern ready for C919

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

The C919 is China’s first passenger jet developed by state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC). It embodies China’s ambition to compete with Western aerospace giants Airbus and Boeing, especially in a market facing challenges such as a shortage of aircraft and safety concerns with Boeing.

Due to its 192-passenger capacity, the C919 is seen by China as a competitor to the Boeing 737 MAX and the Airbus A320neo. The aircraft has already attracted interest from the country’s three major national airlines, which have each placed orders for 100 aircraft. In total, COMAC has received more than 1,000 orders.

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

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

However, COMAC aims to increase production to 100 aircraft per year by 2030 and produce more than 1,000 jets by 2035. In addition, COMAC has started developing a new wide-body jet dubbed the “C939.”

The news was shared by the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post (SCMP), which said it was not a rebranding of the current C929 program, but an entirely new airframe that would complete a series of three variants tailored to China’s growing aviation market.