China’s biggest commercial plane manufacturer is hoping its showcase at the Singapore Airshow this week will finally lift international appetite for its jets.
Though COMAC’s C909 and C919 narrowbody planes have been a considerable success domestically — the company has sold more than 200 to Chinese carriers, which have used them to ferry 36 million passengers — it has struggled to find buyers abroad, with just a few regional airlines picking them up.
The global trade war and its toll on production has further dampened the company’s global ambitions, with the US and Europe moving to protect their champions. In response, the Shanghai-based firm slashed its original sales forecast for 2025 by 80%, Bloomberg reported in December.