- The Comac C919 is not significantly different from what Airbus and Boeing already have on the market, and it “won't particularly shake things up,” said Christian Scherer, chief executive of Airbus' commercial aircraft business.
- “It looks a bit like an Airbus narrowbody,” Scherer said with a wink, noting that the C919 “isn’t very different from what Airbus and Boeing already have on the market.”
An Aircraft Corp of China (Comac) C919 commercial aircraft operated by China Eastern Airlines during the Singapore Airshow in Singapore on Tuesday, February 20, 2024.
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SINGAPORE – China's homegrown airliner may be the latest challenger to Airbus and Boeing's passenger planes, but an Airbus executive said he is not worried.
The Comac C919 will “not cause any particular stir,” said Christian Scherer, chief executive of Airbus' commercial aircraft business, at a media roundtable on the sidelines of the Singapore Airshow.
“It looks a bit like an Airbus narrowbody,” Scherer said with a wink, noting that the C919 “isn’t very different from what Airbus and Boeing already have on the market.”
Scherer acknowledged that the C919 is a “legitimate effort” by China – but “the market is big enough for competition, we welcome competition.”
“We don’t want to bury our heads in the sand… it’s normal to see more competition,” Scherer added.
Comac's spokesperson did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.
The Comac C919 is considered a competitor to the Boeing 737 and the Airbus 320 and is a narrow-body jet developed by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, or Comac for short. It was certified by the Civil Aviation Administration of China in September 2022 and began commercial service with China Eastern Airlines in May last year.
The Comac C919 uses the same engine as Airbus' narrow-body passenger aircraft Airbus A320neo, powered by CFM International's LEAP engines.
Comac announced on Tuesday on the sidelines of the air show that it had signed a contract with China's Tibet Airlines and completed an order for 40 C919 and 10 ARJ21 jets from the Chinese aircraft maker.
The ARJ21 jet is a short to medium range turbofan aircraft capable of flying shorter distances and is used for regional flights.
Even though the C919 is only certified by Chinese authorities, industry experts say it could be an early competitor to the commercial aviation duopoly between Boeing and Airbus.
“The industry contacts we're talking to believe the problems at Boeing, particularly with the 737 Max, represent an early opportunity for Comac,” Northcoast Research analyst Chris Olin previously told CNBC.
— CNBC's Nessa Anwar contributed to this story.