We have been talking about it for several years. Will the Chinese aircraft manufacturer Comac be able to shake the historic aviation duopoly formed by the European Airbus and the American Boeing?
This prospect is now approaching as Comac has just completed the certification flights of its C919, a short-medium haul aircraft capable of transporting 168 passengers over 5,500 km that would directly compete with the popular Airbus A220 and A320 and the Boeing 737. This device could hit the market next year.
To date, Comac has only flown the ARJ21, a 70 to 90-seater twin engine, capable of flying 3,700 km… only in China, since it does not meet the necessary conditions to fly in Europe or the United States.
“An actor we take very seriously”
Could the arrival of the C919 raise fears of losing market share for the European aircraft manufacturer, particularly in China, a market that has become strategic in terms of volumes?
Guest of BFM Business this Thursday, Guillaume Faury, CEO of Airbus, shows a certain serenity but in no way underestimates this new adversary.
However, “it will take a long time for them to pick up the pace, the reliability of the aircraft to be able to be one of the three players, knowing that today it is Boeing and Airbus that dominate to a large extent,” he continues. .
The advantage of the internal market.
For the CEO, Airbus has all the weapons to preserve its positions. “We have an American competitor that is historically very strong. Today we overcome them, that shows that things can change. We believe that the best way out is to continue investing, to continue innovating and in particular in the field of decarbonisation of the sector”.
Source: BFM TV
