China’s civil aircraft manufacturer COMAC took a crucial first step towards challenging Western planemaking giants Boeing and Airbus.
The company flew its C919 airliner at the Dubai Airshow, in its first unveiling outside of Asia. The narrow-body plane entered service in China in 2023, a rival to the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737, the workhorses of commercial aviation. So far, though, it has had no major customers outside China and lacks certification by major Western regulators.
Boeing, though, is struggling after some high-profile disasters, and China’s ties to Gulf countries means there is a market opportunity for COMAC. Analysts told Reuters that China would struggle to gain significant market share, but that COMAC’s presence in Dubai was a signal of its ambition.
