COMAC C919

I do not believe that the C919 will receive FAA certification. The PRC (People’s Republic of China) has tried to enter the civil airliner market without much success. China developed their first civil aircraft in 1966, called the Y-7, a turboprop that could seat up to 52 passengers. Four years later, the government attempts to build their first jetliner, the Y-10, but was abandoned when the project was deemed uneconomical (Stacey & Wong, 2016). In 1988, the PRC develops the Y-7 200A, an upgraded version of the Y-7 and was eventually renamed as the MA60 as it was improves. During the development process of the Y-7 200A, the China applies for FAA certification, but did not receive certification (Stacey, 2016). During 2008, China begins their development of the ARJ21 (Asian Regional Jet) and the C919. However, both of aircraft do not have FAA certification (Stacey & Wong, 2016). In fact, the only civil Chinese built aircraft that has FAA certification is the Y-12, a turboprop transport aircraft that can seat up to 19 passengers. The FAA has stated that the C919 will receive FAA certification when Western standards have been applied to the aircraft (Stacey & Wong, 2016). Foreign operators of Chinese built aircraft no longer use them in service due to a string of accidents relating to the technical aspects of the aircraft’s design. Given the trend, I highly doubt any Chinese built aircraft will ever receive FAA certification and will only be sold in China’s domestic market and to third world countries. 

If the C919 does receive FAA certification, the challenges for U.S carriers would be training. Each manufacture has different procedures and U.S pilots will have to be trained in a new aircraft that is brand new and untested. Another problem would be translating Mandarin Chinese to English, which can cause confusion under bilateral agreements, which require the CAAC (Civil Aviation Administration of China) to send relevant airworthiness directives in English to foreign counterparts (Stacey & Wong, 2016). In regards to public perception, China’s comparative advantage has always been cheap, semi-skilled labor. People might not want to risk their lives to fly on an aircraft that is “Made in China” (Bitzinger, 2016). 

COMAC is a government owned corporation responsible for the development of the ARJ21 and the C919. Since the corporation is government owned, their relationship with the CPC (Communist Party of China) is strong since their interest are aligned with one another, which is to reduce China’s dependency on Boeing and Airbus by developing their own aircraft (BBC, 2011). However, their relationship with the airlines may be a bit different. The biggest airlines in China are also government owned and are subsidized by the central government. It is because of these subsidies and the fact that all of the orders for the C919 have been domestic airlines, the government may be forcing the airlines to purchase their aircraft (Bitzinger, 2016). Currently COMAC has two aircraft models in their inventory, the ARJ21 and the C919. There is a proposed wide-body aircraft being developed with Russia designated as the C929, which can carry 290 passengers and is roughly the same size as a Boeing 787 and an Airbus 350 (Lin & Stinger, 2015).

I believe regardless of whether the C919 receives FAA certification, there already other companies entering the market attempting to break the duopoly between Boeing and Airbus. Russia has been manufacturing civil airliners for decades Tupolev and Ilyushin are two examples, however they are nowhere as popular as Boeing or Airbus, given that they are exclusively used in Russia. In June 2016, Russia’s UAC (United Aircraft Corporation) unveiled the MC-21, a short to mid-range passenger jet meant to compete with the B737 and the A320. Russia believes that the MC-21 can overcome the Boeing-Airbus Duopoly, claiming that their aircraft I is more environmentally friendly and has a 15% lower operating cost than their Western counterparts (Gusarov & Kuzmina, 2016).

Boeing and Airbus in response to each other and the development of the C919 decided to revamp their narrow-body aircraft, the B737 and the A320. Boeing developed the B737 MAX, which is now in production (Jones, 2014). The new jet will have better fuel efficiency and will incorporate innovations that was developed for the B787 Dreamliner. The same can be said for the A320neo, which was a response to Bombardier’s development of their own narrow-body jet. It was also at the same time in which Boeing decided to develop the B737 MAX (Jones, 2014). In addition both manufacturers are developing upgraded version of their long range wide-body aircraft (Jones, 2014). Some analyst have also stated that COMAC lacks industry experience and does not have the name recognition that companies like Boeing, Airbus, and Embraer enjoy nor does COMAC realistic  production capability (Johnson, 2015).

References 

BBC. (2008, May 11). Chinese plane business gets wings. In BBC. Retrieved October 27, 2016, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7394596.stm

Bitzinger, R. A. (2016, April 11). Paper airplanes: China’s ambitions to build commercial jetliners. In LA Times. Retrieved October 27, 2016, from http://www.atimes.com/article/paper-airplanes-chinas-ambitions-to-build-commercial-jetliners/

Gusarov, R., & Kuzmina, Y. (2016, June 14). The new generation aircraft MC-21. In Russian Aviation. Retrieved October 27, 2016, from http://www.ruaviation.com/docs/3/2016/6/14/105/?h

Johnson, P. (2015, December 17). Competition for Boeing as COMAC's C919 is the new kid on the block. In Forbes. Retrieved October 27, 2016, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/pierrjohnson/2015/12/17/competition-for-boeing-as-comacs-c919-is-the-new-kid-on-the-block/#2568ff9f6c1a

Jones, R. (2014, November 5). Boeing Chief Conscious of Chinese Competition. In Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 27, 2016, from http://www.wsj.com/articles/boeing-chief-conscious-of-chinese-competition-1415186412

Lin, J., & Singer, P. (2015, February 13). China And Russia Join Forces To Build New Jumbo Jet. In Popular Science. Retrieved October 27, 2016, from http://www.popsci.com/china-and-russia-join-forces-build-new-jumbo-jet

Stacey, D., & Wong, C. H. (2016, March 20). A tarnished turboprop clouds China’s aviation dream. In Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 27, 2016, from http://www.wsj.com/articles/a-tarnished-turboprop-clouds-chinas-aviation-dream-1458506181