China’s Boeing alternative starting to look enticing
For more than a decade, China’s state-owned aircraft manufacturer has plugged away at developing commercial jets. Until recently, efforts to sell foreign customers on an alternative to the US-European duopoly of Boeing and Airbus showed little progress. Then the American giant messed up again. The blowout of a side panel in a 737 Max operated by Alaska Airlines starts to make Commercial Aircraft Corp of China look like an option worth exploring. Airlines tend to share orders between Airbus and Boeing to ensure they are not entirely reliant on one supplier and to play the manufacturers off against each other. With the latest troubles, a third choice makes sense. Better known as Comac, the Shanghai-based company has already secured more than 1,000 orders, but they are largely from domestic customers such as China Eastern Airlines. Foreign operators have stuck with Boeing and Airbus for decades, largely because the two are known entities and airlines are risk-averse when it comes to shelling out billions of dollars for the single most-important piece of equipment required to run their businesses. New entrants tend to fail because the cost of developing a new plane from scratch is sky-high, while customers and investors are unlikely to pony up the capital needed until a proven product can be demonstrated. Like its Western counterparts, Comac has benefited from government support and guaranteed orders from state-backed airlines. With funding secured, all Comac needed to do was build a viable and reliable plane. It took a while, but its C919 – a counterpart to A320 and Boeing 737 jets – finally went into commercial service in May 2023. Now, it is plying the Shanghai-Chengdu route for China Eastern and the carrier has since increased its order. From an initial five, the company in September announced it would buy a further 100, worth US$9.9b at list prices. It is unlikely that major Boeing customers like United Airlines, Ryanair or Emirates will be dropping the Arlington, Virginia-based manufacturer in favour of Comac anytime soon. But a key advantage that had secured the American aerospace firm’s market position – safety and reliability – is starting to look weak.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2024-01-11/general/china2019s-boeing-alternative-starting-to-look-enticing
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/logo.png
China’s Boeing alternative starting to look enticing
For more than a decade, China’s state-owned aircraft manufacturer has plugged away at developing commercial jets. Until recently, efforts to sell foreign customers on an alternative to the US-European duopoly of Boeing and Airbus showed little progress. Then the American giant messed up again. The blowout of a side panel in a 737 Max operated by Alaska Airlines starts to make Commercial Aircraft Corp of China look like an option worth exploring. Airlines tend to share orders between Airbus and Boeing to ensure they are not entirely reliant on one supplier and to play the manufacturers off against each other. With the latest troubles, a third choice makes sense. Better known as Comac, the Shanghai-based company has already secured more than 1,000 orders, but they are largely from domestic customers such as China Eastern Airlines. Foreign operators have stuck with Boeing and Airbus for decades, largely because the two are known entities and airlines are risk-averse when it comes to shelling out billions of dollars for the single most-important piece of equipment required to run their businesses. New entrants tend to fail because the cost of developing a new plane from scratch is sky-high, while customers and investors are unlikely to pony up the capital needed until a proven product can be demonstrated. Like its Western counterparts, Comac has benefited from government support and guaranteed orders from state-backed airlines. With funding secured, all Comac needed to do was build a viable and reliable plane. It took a while, but its C919 – a counterpart to A320 and Boeing 737 jets – finally went into commercial service in May 2023. Now, it is plying the Shanghai-Chengdu route for China Eastern and the carrier has since increased its order. From an initial five, the company in September announced it would buy a further 100, worth US$9.9b at list prices. It is unlikely that major Boeing customers like United Airlines, Ryanair or Emirates will be dropping the Arlington, Virginia-based manufacturer in favour of Comac anytime soon. But a key advantage that had secured the American aerospace firm’s market position – safety and reliability – is starting to look weak.<br/>
