Comac, China’s state-run planemaker, says it is aiming to raise this year’s sales—and presumably production—from 15 to 28 of the C919, the country’s first domestically produced passenger jet. Last year, it set the ambitious target of 75, and only sold 15. Since the rollout in 2022, the total number of C919s sold are no more than 25, a drop in the ocean of the over 4,000 planes currently flying over the Middle Kingdom.
The C919 is China’s answer to the Airbus 320—albeit with less advanced technology—and it has been in development since 2008, with the first prototype being launched in 2011. Comac also recently announced test flights are being held to gain certification for the EU market. At the moment it is only certified to fly within China.
Despite the fanfare, the numbers pale in comparison to the giants Boeing and Airbus, which both sold over 1,000 planes each last year. While Comac hopes to expand into international markets, and perhaps a place at the table next to Boeing and Airbus, one has to consider the viability of a Chinese competitor entering the scene. China is excellent at manufacturing high-tech products and is catching up with the West in many fields such as robotics, AI etc. Yet there is a difference between something that may be used in an industrial context vs a commercial airliner that holds the lives of hundreds of passengers in its hands. While the safety tests in Europe are still in progress, China does have large political sway these days because of the size of its economy, and the leadership has demonstrated a strong desire to see China being self-sufficient in all essential technologies—and therefore able to produce its own commercial airliners. Regardless, given the slowness of the project, the prospect of Chinese-made planes flying over Western skies may be a long way off yet.