The Chinese Competitor: C919

The COMAC C919 is a Chinese commercial aircraft that is aimed at competing with Boeing and Airbus. Unlike Boeing and Airbus designs, the C919 is not certified for use outside China. Right now the problem is that the FAA doesn’t recognize the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) as a certification agency. (Perrett, 2013) This is the biggest hold up on the Chinese aircraft from being certified outside of Chinese airspace. I believe that there is a chance for it to be certified in the United States, it just will not happen for a long time.

If the C919 got certified in the United States, it could lower the price of Boeing and Airbus. It is no guarantee that it will, but in order for Airbus and Boeing to compete with a Chinese aircraft price. The biggest reason for the lower price in the long run would come from Chinese wages being lower than western countries. If an airline bought a Chinese aircraft, majority of the general public would not notice the aircraft. Most of the public couldn’t even tell the difference between aircraft from the same company or a Boeing from an Airbus.

COMAC is a Chinese aircraft manufacturer that is run by the government of China. They work with the CAAC on the aircraft as COMAC is China’s aviation company to introduce China into the worldwide aviation community. (COMAC) COMAC has another product they have worked on, it is called the ARJ21. As stated before it is a smaller aircraft to get China into the regional jet sectors. It can carry 90 passengers, fly 1,382 miles at an altitude of of 39,000 feet. (COMAC)

If the C919 were to get certified by the FAA, I do not believe more companies would join them into trying to manufacture airliners. Developing an airline is expensive as well as getting it certified. The Chinese were able to because they had their government help fund them in making their aircraft. Another factor that would limit other manufacturers, is that COMAC can manufacture their aircraft cheaper than Airbus and Boeing. This helps them get into the market, if another manufacturer in the west wouldn’t be able to compete with the price of the Chinese aircraft, nor could it compete with the reputations of Airbus and Boeing.

I have not found any information regarding Airbus and Boeing  reacting to the C919. This is both surprising and unsurprising to me.  I find it surprising because there hasn’t been much competition against them in recent years. With the C919, it shows that China is not afraid to take them on and could be a real contender against them. However, this is not surprising because of how hard it will be for COMAC to be seen as a competitor in the aviation community against Boeing and Airbus. Both of these companies have a very good reputation that any company would have a hard time competing against, let alone a newer Chinese company.

Company Profile_Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. (n.d.). Retrieved October 29, 2016, from http://english.comac.cc/aboutus/introduction/

Perrett, B. (2013, December 16). C919 May Be Largely Limited To Chinese Market. Retrieved October 29, 2016, from http://aviationweek.com/awin/c919-may-be-largely-limited-chinese-market

Perrett, B. (2015, January 20). With ARJ21-700 Certified, Focus Shifts To Support. Retrieved October 29, 2016, from http://aviationweek.com/commercial-aviation/arj21-700-certified-focus-shifts-support