Chinese aircraft manufacturer COMAC is expanding production of its new jetliner, the C919, a local counterpart to the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320.
On Thursday, the company delivered another narrow-body aircraft to China Eastern Airlines (CEA), its launch customer.
With the new aircraft, registered B-657T, COMAC has delivered ten C919s in 2024. Until last year, only three jets had been delivered, all to CEA.
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Production of the aircraft is slowly picking up pace amid hundreds of firm orders. The three major Chinese carriers alone have orders for more than 300 C919s.
Currently, there are nine C919s at China Eastern while Air China and China Southern Airlines each have a pair.
This year’s number is expected to grow by December as there are at least three aircraft close to being delivered, including the first C919 for Suparna Airlines, a private airline.
World’s third-largest commercial aircraft manufacturer
COMAC has been competing with Embraer for the position of third-largest commercial aircraft manufacturer in the world since last year.
Helped by orders from state-owned airlines, the Chinese planemaker already surpasses the Brazilian company in this regard.
In 2024, however, there is a chance that COMAC will beat Embraer in deliveries. So far, 45 C909s (formerly ARJ21) and ten C919s have been delivered, totaling 55 aircraft.
Embraer, in turn, had at least 53 jets shipped to customers as of this week. The two, on the other hand, remain far behind Boeing and Airbus, which lead this market by a wide margin.
