Can China's homegrown passenger jet C919 challenge Airbus and Boeing?

China’s first large domestically produced passenger jet took its maiden commercial flight on Sunday (28 May). Dubbed China Eastern Airlines flight MU9191, the C919 plane left Shanghai at 10:32 am local time (02:32 GMT) and “arrived smoothly” in Beijing just after 12:30pm (04:30 GMT), as per China’s state-owned broadcaster CCTV. With its first homegrown large passenger plane, Beijing is aiming to challenge foreign models like the Boeing 737 MAX and the Airbus A320. Let’s take a closer look at the development. Features of C919 Developed by state-backed Commercial Aviation Corp of China (COMAC), the narrow-body C919 plane has a range of up to 5,555 kilometres. After years of delay, the C919 took its first flight in 2017 and has since undergone several flight tests, noted Al Jazeera.

The C919 planes have 164 seats and are being touted as a competitor to Airbus (AIR.PA) A320neo and Boeing (BA.N) 737 MAX single-aisle jet families.

The indigenous jets were delivered to China Eastern Airlines last December, which the state media had described as “an important milestone” for China’s aircraft industry, as per Al Jazeera.

The C919, China's first domestically made large passenger jet, completed its inaugural commercial flight on Sunday, marking its official entry into the civil aviation market. #C919 pic.twitter.com/7vYfHbeFdo

— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) May 28, 2023

Although it is billed as a domestically-manufactured jet, the engine, avionics, control systems, communications and landing gear of C919 are imported from US and European manufacturers. While America’s General Electric and France’s Safran make the LEAP-1C engines used in C919, US firm Honeywell is responsible for providing the flight-control system; US-based Rockwell Collins produces the communication and navigation systems, Hong Kong-based newspaper South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported earlier. COMAC is making efforts to replace some of these foreign parts, including the engine. C919’s maiden commercial flight The single-aisle aircraft carried 130 passengers to Beijing from Shanghai Hongqiao Airport on Sunday. As per CCTV, passengers were given red boarding passes and a “themed meal” to mark the maiden flight. “I’m confident about the plane. The flight was smoother than expected,” one of the passengers told CCTV after landing.

China's first domestically developed large passenger jet #C919 has made its first commercial flight from Shanghai to Beijing. Congratulations! pic.twitter.com/mg7De2EUL9

— Hua Chunying 华春莹 (@SpokespersonCHN) May 28, 2023

“The first commercial flight is a coming-of-age ceremony of the new aircraft, and C919 will get better and better if it stands the test of the market,” Zhang Xiaoguang, director of the marketing and sales department of COMAC, said in a Xinhua report, according to CNN. ‘Source of national pride’ Berlin-based think tank Mercator Institute for China Studies (Merics) said in January this year that the market entry of the C919 narrowbody jet is a “symbol of China’s technological rise and a source of national pride”. The report by the think tank also underlined how C919 can help advance Beijing’s “strategic objectives” in aviation, as per SCMP. 

It said that C919 jet could splinter the duopoly of Airbus and Boeing planes in the country’s domestic market and beyond.

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According to Merics, C919 can take advantage of the size of the aviation market in China, “strong industrial policy and a sector dominated by state-owned companies”. “Production glitches or safety issues aside, COMAC’s domestic market share looks set to climb steadily in a huge and increasingly protected home market, with the company at some point reaching the scale to brave the step into foreign markets and global competition,” the think tank said in its report, as per SCMP. Boeing’s business in Beijing has been embroiled in the increased tensions between US and China. After grounding Boeing 737 MAX in 2019 following two deadly crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia, China allowed the aircraft to return to service only in January. [caption id=“attachment_12012982” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] China had grounded Boeing 737 MAX jets in 2019. AP (Representational Image)[/caption] Meanwhile, C919 left Boeing’s 737 family behind in bagging new orders. According to Merics, while COMAC had received 305 orders – mostly from state-owned airlines and financial institutions in China – by late 2022, while US’ Boeing had only secured 116 for its 737 series. “Airbus led the pack with 565 orders of its A320 in China, suggesting the duopoly is becoming a triopoly to the detriment of Boeing,” the report said, as per SCMP. “Even if the C919 is less efficient or technologically advanced than the competition, the political aims of China’s state-owned airlines will likely outweigh such operational deficiencies. In an already highly politicised industry, this will further complicate doing business for Boeing and Airbus,” Merics noted in its report. The think tank also said that the induction of C919 planes into China’s airlines would be “gradual” as they are already accustomed to flying Western commercial planes. “If the C919 performs as promised in China over the next few years, the next area of competition will be in third markets outside of China, Europe and the US,” Merics added. “Only if the C919 can gain this international foothold will it really become a success. The risks are high, but given China’s industrial-policy successes in other areas, Airbus and Boeing better buckle up," the think tank said, as per SCMP.  [caption id=“attachment_12012972” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] C919 can help China in meeting its growing aviation needs. AP File Photo[/caption] Meanwhile, China intends to reach an annual production capacity of 150 C919 planes in five years, Reuters reported citing the government-backed media The Paper. Zhang Yujin, deputy general manager of COMAC, said in January that the company had received over 1,200 orders for narrowbody jetliners. “The first orders are from China Eastern Airlines (600115.SS), and at present a number of carriers are vying for our orders,” Zhang said at the time, according to Reuters. Notably, Airbus has decided to double its production capacity in China. Why C919 is significant for China C919 can help in reducing China’s reliance on European aircraft manufacturer Airbus and US’ Boeing. If successful, the C919 will fulfill China’s ambitions to operate its indigenous commercial flights to meet the country’s growing demand in the aviation sector, as per SCMP. The Asian giant aims for C919 to obtain 10 per cent domestic market share by 2025, the Hong Kong-based newspaper reported. As per SCMP, the development of C919 was “an integral element of the ‘Made in China’ 2025 plan”. Released in 2015, Made in China 2025 is a 10-year roadmap to increase Beijing’s manufacturing power by propelling its high-tech industries to global levels. On C919’s possible entry into the global markets, Greg Waldron, Asia managing editor of the industry publication FlightGlobal, told Al Jazeera, “The international market is questionable given that neither European nor US regulators have authorised the use of the aircraft”. “Until this happens, key international markets will be closed to the C919,” he added. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.