Experts doubt China’s C919 can compete with the Airbus 320 or Boeing 737

The Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC) announced that six of its C919 passenger jets had completed their test flights on Jul. 23, the final step before the Chinese government certifies the airplanes, reported Fortune.com.

A total of six C919 test planes have finished the tests, which signify that the plane has entered the final stage of receiving a certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), which is required for commercial operations, said COMAC in a statement on its official website.

“This is a crucial phased victory in the development of the C919 jet,” COMAC said.

COMAC, a state-run aerospace manufacturer, has long had ambitions of challenging U.S. airplane maker Boeing and European maker Airbus. Some analysts refer to the C919 as China’s “divorce jet” because it represents China’s hopes to use the aircraft to lessen the country’s dependence on Boeing and Airbus. But COMAC has struggled to deliver on the C919 jet—a narrow-body, medium-range airliner similar to the Airbus A220-300, A320 or Boeing 737 Max—after years of delays.

Experts also say that even once the C919 is ready, the aircraft will be less fuel efficient with worse technology than either the Airbus A320 or Boeing 737 Max, making the COMAC planes a tough sell to airlines. But state pressure may make up for some of COMAC’s deficiencies.

“China provides a large captive domestic market in which Beijing can mandate orders for COMAC even if the C919 is less competitive than western alternatives,” Jim Harris, aerospace and defense practice lead at Bain & Company, recently told the Financial Times.

The Chinese government invested heavily in the C919, pouring between $50 billion and $72 billion into COMAC for the aircraft’s development. To date, COMAC has received 815 orders for the C919 from 28 customers worldwide.

COMAC C919 launch date delays
China’s government initially launched the C919 development program in 2008. It wanted to get the jet flying by 2014 and commercialize the plane by 2016. But China’s lack of technical equipment, parts, and expertise for plane making slowed development. The first C919 prototype took flight in May 2017, but testing issues plagued the manufacturer and COMAC pushed the launch date back to 2021.

Last year, C919’s launch was postponed again as COMAC struggled to import parts. COMAC depends on U.S. manufacturers like Honeywell to import critical components for the C919 aircraft. But in late 2020, the U.S. government banned tech exports to COMAC due to the firm’s alleged military ties.

COMAC expects China’s government to certify the C919 jet later this year, according to Chinese state media. After that, COMAC will need to complete additional test flights and train pilots and crew to use the aircraft, a process that could extend COMAC’s official C919 launch into 2023 or 2024.

COMAC vs. Boeing and Airbus
It remains unclear whether the C919 can compete with Boeing and Airbus for customers. COMAC’s only homegrown commercial aircraft, the ARJ21 short-haul plane, has been in commercial use since 2016. But COMAC has only delivered 68 of the planes to domestic carriers including Chengdu Airlines, Air China, and Jiangxi Airlines; the planes fly almost entirely in China. Airbus, by comparison, currently has over 2,000 airplanes operating in the country.

The C919 jet, primarily constructed with aluminium alloys, is to be powered by either CFM International LEAP or ACAE CJ-1000A turbofan engines, and be able to carry 156 to 168 passengers in a normal operating configuration up to 5,555 km (3,000 nmi), compared to a range of 6,600 km (3,600 nmi) for the Airbus A220, A320 or the Boeing 737-7 Max with a similar passenger load.