Air China orders homegrown C919s in challenge to jet duopoly

Air China announced plans to buy 100 Comac C919 airliners, a major boost to the home-grown planemaker seeking to disrupt the commercial aircraft duopoly locked down by Airbus and Boeing. The agreement has a value of $10.8b, based on the list price for the C919. Deliveries will start this year and run through 2031, Air China said in a filing. The Beijing-based airline, one of China’s three biggest carriers, had previously already ordered a handful of C919s. The move highlights how China is muscling into the lucrative market for larger commercial airliners, which for decades has been evenly shared by Airbus and Boeing. While the C919, which is similar in size to the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 family of jets, isn’t yet certified to fly passengers outside of China, industry experts expect the model to grab market share in the next decade, particularly as Airbus and Boeing are sold out for years on their most popular models. Air China currently has a fleet of almost 500 airplanes, including 212 A320-family and 127 737 series, according to data from tracker Planespotters.net. Airbus has been particularly successful with its A320 in Asia’s biggest economy, helped by the fact that it has a final assembly line in the country. China typically orders planes in large quantities, often during state visits, and then distributes them among the national carriers. Boeing’s position in China has been difficult in recent years. Deliveries of the 737 were suspended in the wake of two deadly crashes involving the model in 2018 and 2019, and only resumed earlier in 2024. Political tensions between Beijing and Washington have also complicated orders for the US company. And the crisis of confidence in the wake of a near-catastrophic accident in January has further absorbed Boeing’s attention, forcing the company to significantly slow down output of its most important jet.<br/>