The Comac C919 isn’t very other from what Airbus and Boeing have already got out there, and that it was once “now not going to rock the boat particularly,” Christian Scherer, leader government officer of Airbus’s plane industrial industry mentioned.”It appears to be like a little like an Airbus slim frame,” Scherer mentioned, tongue in cheek, noting that the C919 is “now not very other” from what Airbus and Boeing have already got out there.A industrial Plane Corp of China (Comac) C919 plane operated by way of China Jap Airways all through the Singapore Airshow in Singapore, on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024.Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesSINGAPORE — China’s homegrown airliner is also the newest challenger to Airbus and Boeing’s passenger jets, however an government from Airbus mentioned he isn’t apprehensive.The Comac C919 is “now not going to rock the boat particularly,” Christian Scherer, leader government officer of Airbus’s plane industrial industry, mentioned at a media roundtable at the sidelines of the Singapore Airshow.”It appears to be like a little like an Airbus slim frame,” Scherer mentioned, tongue in cheek, noting that the C919 is “now not very other” from what Airbus and Boeing have already got out there.Scherer said that the C919 was once a “reliable effort” by way of China — however “the marketplace is big sufficient for pageant, we welcome the contest.””We do not wish to stick our head within the sand … it is a standard factor to look extra pageant,” Scherer added. Comac’s spokesperson didn’t straight away reply to CNBC’s request for remark.Touted as a competitor to Boeing’s 737 and the Airbus 320, the Comac C919 is a slim frame jet advanced by way of the Business Plane Company of China, or Comac. It was once qualified by way of the Civil Aviation Management of China in September 2022 and entered industrial provider with China Jap Airways in Would possibly final yr.The Comac C919 makes use of the similar engine as Airbus’s slim frame passenger jetliner the Airbus A320neo, powered by way of the CFM Global LEAP engines.Comac introduced at the sidelines of the air display on Tuesday that it had signed a handle China’s Tibet Airways and finalized an order for 40 C919 and 10 ARJ21 jets from the Chinese language plane maker.The ARJ21 jet is a brief to medium vary turbofan aircraft which is able to fly shorter distances and is used for regional flights.Although the C919 is qualified best by way of Chinese language government, trade mavens have mentioned it might be an early competitor to the economic aviation duopoly between Boeing and Airbus.”The trade contacts we talk to imagine the issues at Boeing, particularly the 737 Max, provide an early alternative for Comac,” Northcoast Analysis analyst Chris Olin prior to now advised CNBC.— CNBC’s Nessa Anwar contributed to this tale.
