Comac C919.
Shi Yuge/VCG via Getty Images
- Chinese planemaker Comac is hoping to deliver its first C919 passenger jet this year, six years later than expected.
- The narrowbody plane has had a long production due to technical issues and shipping delays.
- China hopes the C919 will make it less reliant on foreign-made technology like Boeing and Airbus.
The C919 is a narrowbody passenger jet made by state-owned aerospace manufacturer Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac), built to rival the industry’s top planemakers, Boeing and Airbus.
Reuters
China’s answer to Airbus and Boeing has arrived
After beginning production in December 2011, the first C919 prototype rolled off the assembly line in November 2015 and completed its inaugural flight over Shanghai in May 2017.
STR/AFP via Getty Images
Source: Simple Flying
Production of the aircraft has been a tough road for the manufacturer, which initially hoped to have the twin jet enter the market in 2016.
Reuters
Source: Aerotime Hub
However, years of technical difficulties and supply issues delayed the development.
Reuters
Source: Nikkei Asia
Specifically, Comac was impacted by restrictions imposed by the Trump Administration in 2020 that blacklisted shipments of things like fight controls and jet engines.
Associated Press
Source: Nikkei Asia
About 60% of the C919 parts are supplied by American companies, so Comac was forced to rely on special licenses from entities like General Electric and Honeywell to get the parts it needed for the jet, according to a report by the Center for Strategic & International Studies, a think tank based in Washington, DC.
Reuters
Source: Nikkei Asia
While the company has faced political and technical challenges, it also failed to secure the C919’s local certification from China’s aviation regulator, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), by the end of 2021.
Reuters
Source: Nikkei Asia
However, it is now aiming for a 2022 certification.
Shi Yuge/VCG via Getty Images
Source: Reuters
CAAC spokesperson Yang Zhenmei told Reuters in December 2021 that the company had not completed the number of required test flights.
Reuters
Source: Reuters
According to Zhenmei, the C919 has only flown 34 out of the necessary 276 flights.
Reuters
Source: Reuters
However, the CAAC says the C919’s approval is a key focus for 2022. According to Zhenmei, the agency has imposed strict airworthiness standards for the jet, including over 40,000 days of manpower to review everything.
Reuters
Source: Global Times
Despite the delays, which were further exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, the C919 is hoping to begin deliveries this year.
Getty Images/Stringer
Source: Aerotime Hub
On January 19, 2022, Comac’s deputy general manager, Wu Yongliang, told state-controlled media outlet The Paper that “all work is progressing in an orderly manner.”
Reuters
Source: Aerotime Hub
China Eastern Airlines will be the C919’s launch customer, which has a firm order for five jets to be operated by its low-cost subsidiary OTT Airlines. The carrier currently flies another Comac-made plane, the ARJ21.
Yin Liqin/China News Service via Getty Images
Source: Aviacionline
The AJR21, which stands for advanced regional jet, is a small twin-engine jet that first entered commercial service in 2016 with Chengdu Airlines.
REUTERS/Aly Song
Source: Simple Flying
According to OTT, the C919 will be based in Shanghai and fly domestic routes to cities like Beijing, Guangzhou, Chengdu, and Xiamen.
Reuters
Source: Aviacionline
In addition to China Eastern, a total of 815 firm and provisional orders have been made from 28 entities, most of which are Chinese carriers, like Hainan Airlines…
TonyV3112/Shutterstock
Source: Simple Flying, Comac
…Sichuan Airlines…
Sergei Bachlakov/Shutterstock
Source: Simple Flying
…China Express Airlines…
Markus Mainka/Shutterstock
Source: Simply Flying
…Air China…
Dmitry Rukhlenko/Shutterstock
Source: Simple Flying
…and non-Chinese entity GE Capital Aviation Services, now known as AerCap, which has ordered 10.
AerCap
Source: Airline Geeks, AerCap
Comac intends the C919 aircraft to be a short and medium-haul workhorse to connect hubs to both large and small cities.
Reuters
Source: Comac
While the list price has not been revealed, analysts expect it to be around $50 million. That is over 50% less than Boeing’s 737-800 and Airbus’ A320neo, which are about $106 million and $111 million, respectively, as of 2021.
Airbus
Source: Statista, Simple Flying
The aircraft has a range of 4,075 to 5,555 kilometers (2,532 to 3,452 miles) and can seat between 158 and 168 passengers, depending on the cabin configuration.
Reuters
Source: Comac
Based on various mockups, the plane can be fitted with an all-economy cabin…
JOHANNES EISELE/AFP via Getty Images
Source: Comac
…or in a multi-class configuration with economy, business, or another premium seat.
Reuters
Source: Comac
Currently, the C919 is powered by CFM LEAP-1C engines, which are being made in partnership with General Electric and France’s Safran.
PIERRE VERDY/AFP via Getty Images
Source: CNET
The popular engines are also seen on the A320 and 737 families.
Airbus
Source: CNET
However, China wants to eventually use its own engine on the plane to alleviate its reliance on foreign-made technology.
Feature China/Barcroft Media via Getty Images
Source: Reuters
So, the country is developing the AECC CJ-1000A, a turbofan jet engine that it hopes will be complete by 2025.
Feature China/Barcroft Media via Getty Images
Source: Reuters
But, the country doesn’t want to just make its own engines, it wants to manufacture all of the C919’s parts in-house.
Reuters
Source: Department of Justice
To do this, China has been accused of launching a multi-year hacking operation to acquire the intellectual property of the foreign companies that supply parts for the jet, according to a Crowdstrike report published in 2019 and a Department of Justice indictment.
HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images
Source: Department of Justice
Between 2010 and 2015, the hackers successfully infiltrated entities like Honeywell, Safran, and General Electric, the report says.
DAVID BREWSTER/Star Tribune via Getty Images
Source: Department of Justice
Regardless if the C919 ever operates outside China, the country hopes the jet will help it become more technologically self-reliant and advance China’s aircraft manufacturing industry.
Costfoto/Barcroft Media via Getty Images
Source: Reuters