SHANGHAI: The business stated on Saturday that the certification of China’s domestic C919 narrow-body jet, which is intended to compete with the Airbus-Boeing monopoly, is quickly approaching.
The six test aircraft have completed their testing tasks, according to the state-owned manufacturer Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC), which announced the news on its official social media account as the programme entered the final phase of obtaining the certificate from the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration that is necessary for commercial operations.
That would be a significant accomplishment for China’s plans to advance in the manufacturing supply chain. After Boeing and Airbus reached agreements to take over the production of competing aircraft made by Embraer and Bombardier, China’s COMAC is now effectively the third alternative on the there is a market for planes with more than 100 seats.
The C919 aircraft programme, which was started in 2008 and was intended to directly compete with the Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus 320neo families, has encountered a number of technical problems and stricter US export rules.China Eastern Airlines, a state-owned carrier, is the launch customer and placed an order for five C919 aircraft in March of last year.
The local Wuhan government-owned daily Changjiang Daily reported on July 8 that the airline is slated to accept the first delivery in August. The aircraft is made primarily of Western parts, including avionics and engines, while being assembled in China.
