Comac, China's First Domestic Passenger Jet Manufacturer, Aiming for Certifications to Soar Beyond Borders

Comac, China's first domestically produced passenger jet manufacturer, is working to obtain certifications to fly beyond the country's borders. Comac's heavily subsidized C919, which made its first commercial flight in 2023, is currently being operated on domestic routes by China's three major state-owned carriers: Air China, China Eastern Airlines, and China Southern Airlines.

Starting this month, China Eastern Airlines will operate the C919 on its first regular commercial route outside the Chinese mainland, flying between Hong Kong and Shanghai. Yang Yang, the company's vice president of marketing and sales, stated to the Financial Times that the company aims to have the single-aisle aircraft flying in Southeast Asia by 2026 and to obtain European certification by the beginning of this year. Yang noted, "We hope to operate more jets domestically in China and fully identify any issues before bringing them to Southeast Asia."

Global certification and maintenance support continue to pose significant barriers to Comac's objective of operating the C919 in overseas markets. According to analysts, Comac faces a challenging path, especially in obtaining overseas certification from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency. McDonald stated, "IBA does not expect the C919 to be certified in Europe in the near future. Europe has very strict certification parameters." Meanwhile, obtaining certification from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration could also become complicated due to U.S.-China tensions.

According to a forecast by Airbus for 2024, the world will need 42,430 new aircraft over the next twenty years, with approximately 80% of these being single-aisle planes. Aviation consultancy IBA anticipates that Comac could ramp up its production of C919s, with 16 already delivered to Chinese airlines as of December, from one per month to 11 per month by 2040, potentially delivering around 2,000 aircraft by that date.