COMAC: China’s Bid to Join the Big Two

For decades, almost every large airliner in the world came from just two companies, Airbus and Boeing. China, which has one of the world’s biggest and fastest-growing air travel markets, bought hundreds of them every year. In 2008 the Chinese government set out to change that, creating a company to build a home-grown alternative: the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, or COMAC.

Starting with a regional jet

COMAC’s first aircraft was the ARJ21 (Advanced Regional Jet), a twin-engined jet for roughly 80 to 100 passengers. It first flew in 2008 and entered passenger service in China in 2016, after a long and difficult development. In 2024 COMAC renamed it the C909, bringing it into one product family with its bigger sibling.

The ARJ21 gave COMAC something it badly needed: experience of certifying an airliner, building it in numbers and supporting it in airline service, skills that can only be learned by doing.

The C919: aiming at the A320 and 737

The big prize is the C919, a single-aisle airliner for about 158 to 168 passengers, the same class as the A320neo and 737 MAX 8, the most-sold aircraft size in the world. It first flew in May 2017, was certified by China’s aviation regulator, the CAAC, on 29 September 2022, and flew its first commercial passenger service with China Eastern on 28 May 2023, from Shanghai to Beijing.

The C919 is assembled in Shanghai, but much of what’s inside comes from abroad. Its LEAP-1C engines are made by CFM International, the same Franco-American engine maker behind the A320neo and 737 MAX engines, and many of its systems also come from Western suppliers. That’s normal in aviation, where even Airbus and Boeing buy major parts from global suppliers, but it means the programme depends on those supply chains.

The certification question

To sell widely outside China, an airliner normally needs approval from the US FAA or Europe’s EASA, the regulators most of the world’s authorities follow. The C919 doesn’t yet have either, so for now it flies mainly for Chinese airlines, on domestic routes and a growing number of regional international ones, including regular services to Hong Kong. With China’s own market so large, that home base alone could support a sizeable production line.

What comes next

COMAC’s long-term ambition is a full family of aircraft, including a widebody, the C929, now in development. Its biggest challenges are raising production to meaningful rates, building an international support network and winning foreign certification. If it succeeds, it could become the first serious new rival to Airbus and Boeing in large airliners for decades. China’s airport-building boom is part of the same story. Read why China and India are building airports so fast.

Sources & Further Reading

• Comac C919 — Wikipedia ↗
• C919 completes first commercial flight — Aviation Today ↗
• COMAC C919: China takes on Airbus and Boeing — Flightradar24 ↗
• China’s C919 begins regular flights to Hong Kong — Gov.cn ↗