Malaysia Urges China to Globalize COMAC C919 as AirAsia Nears Landmark Deal

Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke has called on China’s state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) to intensify its global marketing of the C919 passenger jet as AirAsia moves closer to becoming its first foreign customer. Analysts note that the C919 is a first-generation narrow-body design broadly comparable to earlier versions of the Airbus A320 family, but positioned as China’s homegrown alternative to Western jets.

Speaking at a Malaysian Chamber of Commerce Hong Kong and Macau (Maycham) event on Wednesday, Loke said purchases by foreign airlines would greatly boost confidence in the COMAC-manufactured plane, which entered commercial service in May 2023 but has yet to secure overseas orders. The C919 has already carried more than 1.5 million passengers on domestic routes with Air China, China Eastern Airlines, and China Southern Airlines.

“The moment you have a foreign airline flying your plane, the confidence will go up, and you become an international player,” Loke said. “Even if you get 10 planes flown by a foreign airline, you’ll make a lot of difference because that is a recognition of the safety and reliability of the aircraft.”

Loke added that he had offered COMAC feedback on its marketing strategy after the company held a roadshow at Subang Airport last year and parked a C919 there without notifying him, leaving him to view the aircraft on his own.

The COMAC C919 is often described by analysts as a conservative, first-generation design comparable to the earlier Airbus A320 family rather than the latest A320neo or Boeing 737 MAX models. While all three aircraft are single-aisle, narrow-body jets intended for short- to medium-haul markets, the C919 is a distinct Chinese-built aircraft with its own engineering features — including an integrated propulsion system developed with GE Aerospace and Western avionics.

In terms of capacity and performance, the C919 seats roughly 158–174 passengers in a typical two-class layout and has a maximum range of about 3,000 nautical miles (5,500–5,700 km), depending on configuration. By comparison, the Airbus A320neo seats around 150–180 passengers with a range of 3,500–3,900 nautical miles (6,300–7,400 km), while the Boeing 737-8 Max seats 162–178 passengers with a range of about 3,550 nautical miles (6,570 km).

AirAsia’s parent company Capital A is in active discussions with COMAC to buy the C919, CEO Tony Fernandes confirmed at the Belt and Road Summit in Hong Kong on the same day. While he declined to disclose the order size or pricing, Fernandes said the deal would support AirAsia’s strategy to serve Southeast Asia’s 700 million-strong population and deepen ties with the fast-growing China–ASEAN travel and trade market.

“Most of the West is not taking the Comac aircraft seriously; I can tell you it’s a fantastic aircraft. We are very serious,” Fernandes said. He added that AirAsia’s pilots believed they could convert from flying an Airbus to the C919 with just one day of training and that he had leveraged Loke’s argument about foreign recognition to negotiate a better price, to which COMAC had “responded quickly.”

While Fernandes did not specify a timeline, he hinted COMAC could “deliver aircraft sooner than we all imagine” and compared the timing to Malaysia’s Johor Bahru–Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) rail link, slated for completion in December 2026.

Loke also used the Maycham event to discuss Malaysia’s transport priorities, including connectivity between Singapore and Johor under a new special economic zone that launched in January. He noted that the 1km Causeway remains one of the busiest land crossings in the world, carrying more than 300,000 commuters daily. Although Malaysia is “100 percent ready” to legalize cross-border ride-hailing, insurance and vehicle registration issues still need to be resolved with Singapore.

On air cargo, Loke provided an update on the “Air Silk Road” initiative, which aims to boost aviation logistics between Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport in Henan Province. The goal is to create a seamless air corridor between ASEAN and China. Loke said Malaysia is positioning KLIA as a regional cargo hub serving smaller cities across Southeast Asia and easing the flow of goods into China.

He added that the governor of Henan would visit Malaysia next week to discuss the project, which has backing from Chinese President Xi Jinping. While details of the required infrastructure still need to be finalized, Loke expressed confidence the plan would move quickly with private-sector leadership. “We create the conditions for the business community. It’s up to them to make it work,” he said.

If finalized, AirAsia’s purchase would make it the first foreign airline to operate the C919 — a breakthrough for COMAC’s ambitions to compete globally with Airbus and Boeing.

Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, scmp.com