Boeing
and
Airbus
are facing a new risk to their global dominance. China’s competitor to the Western plane makers made its international debut at the Singapore Airshow Sunday—at an opportune moment.
Boeing
faces several problems with its 737 MAX family of aircraft, while its planes and
Airbus
’ A320 narrow-body jets are largely sold out for the remainder of the decade. It leaves the door open for a competitor.
That’s where China comes in. The country’s C919 jet made its first flight outside Chinese territory to appear at the Singapore Air Show, before conducting a flyby at the event. The aircraft is manufactured by the state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC).
Boeing will not be displaying its commercial aircraft at this year’s show, although Airbus is expected to. Shares of Airbus were 1.5% lower in afternoon European trading Monday and are 3% up so far in 2024. Boeing stock, which is 22% down this year, wasn’t trading as the U.S. market was closed for Presidents Day.
China faces a long runway, and an uphill battle to really challenge the Boeing-Airbus duopoly, but it has to start somewhere. Only four C919s are currently in operation, being flown by Chinese Eastern Airlines. The carrier also has about 370 narrow-body aircraft from Airbus and 140 from Boeing.
But there are signs the aircraft’s presence could be set to grow. Chinese Eastern ordered 100 more C919s, worth around $10 billion, in September last year. Beijing is also keen for European approval—the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said last month it will work with the European Union Aviation Safety this year to make that happen.
Initially COMAC will pose a greater threat to Boeing and Airbus in China, though.
China has proved challenging for Boeing in recent years, though things have been looking up lately. In January, a Chinese airline took delivery of the first 737 MAX since 2019, Barron’s previously reported. The five-year hiatus came after two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019.
It’s a key market for the industry. Boeing forecasts that China will account for 20% of global aircraft deliveries over the next two decades, and says its domestic aviation market will become the largest in the world over that time. The company said China’s domestic market will power demand for 6,470 single-aisle jets, such as the 737 MAX family, through 2042.
Boeing’s issues have mounted so far this year. Its MAX 9 jet was temporarily grounded for three weeks earlier this month after a door panel blew off in midair during an
Alaska Airlines
flight. The Federal Aviation Administration also halted the planned production expansion of Boeing’s 737 MAX aircraft. The plane maker’s MAX 7 and MAX 10 jets still need to be certified by the FAA, and several carriers with orders of those aircraft have raised the possibility of delays including
United Airlines.
If there were ever a time for a competitor to start mounting a serious challenge to Airbus and Boeing, it’s now.
Write to Callum Keown at [email protected]
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