A Comac C919 flies throughout an aerial show at the Singapore Airshow at Changi Exhibition Centre, in Singapore, February 20, 2024.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS
China’s first domestically- produced passenger jet was offered at Asia’s largest air show, which opened in Singapore on Tuesday, as Beijing seeks to stamp its presence in world aviation.
With its C919 plane, Beijing needs to problem the decades-long dominance of prime airplane makers Airbus and Boeing whereas lowering its reliance on international expertise.
The single-aisle mannequin from COMAC is a possible competitor to the market-leading A320, made by Europe’s Airbus, and the 737 MAX from U.S.-based Boeing — which saved a low profile at the Singapore air show following a latest security disaster. On the primary day of the occasion within the city-state, the C919 wowed the group of commerce exhibitors, aviation executives and officers with modern aerial manoeuvres, sporting a white, inexperienced and navy blue livery. It will participate within the day by day flying shows at the six-day occasion, and options among the many static reveals at a sprawling website close to Changi Airport.
A C919 airplane within the China Eastern livery was amongst dozens of business and army plane on the bottom. Beside it had been two ARJ21s, smaller industrial jets additionally made by state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC).
The C919 has been making industrial flights in China since May, and was displayed for the primary time exterior mainland China in Hong Kong in December.
While it has but to draw buyers exterior the nation, the C919 scored its first order at the air show from China’s Tibet Airlines, which signed a contract to purchase 40 of them and 10 ARJ21s.
Henan Civil Aviation Development and Investment Group additionally purchased six ARJ21s which it’ll use for firefighting, medical service and emergency administration, COMAC mentioned.
A spokesperson for COMAC at the air show wouldn’t give a worth for the order. Although the air show is an effective alternative for Beijing to show off the C919, discovering a big-name purchaser shall be exhausting, mentioned aviation analyst Shukor Yusof of Singapore-based Endau Analytics. “There’s still a stigma with the ‘made-in-China’ brand in the aviation industry, even if China now leads the world in the electric vehicle market,” he instructed AFP.
‘Matter of when’
“It will take time for the C919 to land an order from a major carrier,” he mentioned, though it’s “a matter of when, not if, a top-tier airline buys a Chinese-made commercial jet”.
Underscoring China’s robust presence at the air show, Beijing additionally showcased army capabilities, exhibiting for the primary time the Z-10ME assault helicopter, its reply to the U.S.-made Apache.
China, South Korea and the Czech Republic can have nation pavilions for the primary time, and Airbus is showcasing its new long-range A350-1000 airplane.
While Boeing shall be in attendance, it isn’t presenting any bodily industrial plane, in contrast to in earlier years. The firm continues to be smarting from a near-catastrophic incident in January, when a fuselage panel on a Boeing 737 MAX 9 Alaska Airlines jet blew off mid-flight.
Airbus confirmed off its A350-1000, which is participating within the flying shows utilizing sustainable aviation gas, a key dialogue level at the occasion. Organisers anticipate the show to attract 50,000 commerce attendees from all over the world — near pre-pandemic ranges. A watered-down air show was held in 2020 after lots of the exhibitors pulled out, and the 2022 version went forward however with out the 2 days open to the general public.
“[Year] 2018 was the highest we’ve ever had. We are close to the best we’ve ever had,” mentioned Leck Chet Lam, MD of occasion organiser Experia. This displays the worldwide restoration of air journey, he mentioned.
“International passenger traffic has almost returned to pre-pandemic levels and is projected to more than double by 2040,” mentioned Cindy Koh, EVP, Singapore Economic Development Board.
