China’s new passenger plane C919 to compete with Airbus, Boeing
Washington: U.S. experts said China’s new passenger planes pose no immediate threat to western aviation companies such as Boeing and Airbus.
The maiden flight of China’s C919 passenger plane from Shanghai Pudong International Airport represents one step towards the country’s bid to reduce reliance on foreign airliners.
“The Chinese government is interested in establishing independence and self-sufficiency in all aspects of aviation,” Douglas Royce, an aerospace expert at Forecast International, an aerospace market research firm, told Xinhua.
It is engaged in a long-term process of catching up to Europe, the United States, and Russia in commercial aircraft, he said, adding this is one step in that direction.
The 158-seat C919 is China’s first large passenger jet and is expected to compete with the updated Airbus 320 and Boeing’s new generation 737.
So far, 23 foreign and domestic customers, including China’s national carrier Air China and leasing company GE Capital Aviation Service, have placed orders for 570 aircrafts, according to the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), the manufacturer of the C919.
Royce predicted that demand for the C919 will be centered in the Chinese market and a few satellite markets in the early years of service.
To pave the way for the jet to enter foreign market, China has already been in talks with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to obtain the airworthiness certification for the C919. COMAC estimated that it can sell 2,000 C919s over the next 20 years. Inputs – Xinhua
May 2018
Image: Al Jazeera
