Latest news with #C909
Business Insider
08-07-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
China wants to challenge Airbus and Boeing and shake up global aviation. Here's what you need to know about its upstart planemaker, Comac.
For decades, the building of the world's commercial passenger planes has been a duopoly. Get an international flight anywhere in the world, and it's highly likely you'll be on either an Airbus or a Boeing plane. A Chinese upstart planemaker, Comac, wants to disrupt that, and the signs suggest it has a good chance. Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury has even said the industry could go "from a duopoly to a potential triopoly." Officially known as the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, the planemaker was only founded in 2008, and has not been without challenges and controversy. But with air travel growing rapidly in China and supply chain problems blighting the aviation industry globally, Comac 's rise comes at a perfect time. Comac looks to challenge Airbus and Boeing's dominance Eight years after its foundation, Comac's first plane entered commercial service. Initially known as the ARJ21, it was later renamed the C909 to unify the company's branding, a sign of Comac's growing ambitions. Data from Ch-aviation says 145 of these have been delivered to airlines, mostly based in China and a few in Southeast Asia. The plane's chief designer, Chen Yong, told the state news agency Xinhua that 166 are in service. The C909 is a small jet, with a capacity of between 78 and 90 seats. Designed for regional journeys, it's more likely to compete with planes from the Brazilian manufacturer Embraer. Comac's more important aircraft is instead the C919, which is similar to Airbus' A320 family and Boeing's 737. It's another single-aisle aircraft but has a longer range and can carry between 156 and 168 passengers. Due to the huge demand from airlines, these types of jets have been significant cash cows for Airbus and Boeing. While Ch-aviation data indicates just 19 C919s have entered commercial service, that number is expected to grow massively. In 2023, Comac Chairman He Dongfeng said there were 1,061 orders, Xinhua reported. Europe's biggest airline, the Irish budget carrier Ryanair, is also considering buying some. "The Chinese are basically building a fucking A320. So if it was cheap enough — 10% or 20% cheaper than an Airbus aircraft — then we'd order it," CEO Michael O'Leary told travel industry outlet Skift in March. However, Florian Guillermet, executive director of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, told French publication L'Usine Nouvelle in May that certification is still three to six years away. Plus, the state-owned planemaker isn't without its controversy. Trade secrets and tariffs US Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, the ranking member of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, warned O'Leary not to order the jets, citing allegations of corporate espionage. In February, 66-year-old Liming Li, from California, pleaded guilty to possessing trade secrets he downloaded from his former US employer, which specialized in precision measuring. Court documents say FBI agents saw emails with Comac staff and presentations for the company. Other cases have charged Chinese intelligence officers and hackers with attempting to steal technology about American jet engines, according to the Justice Department. Donald Trump's tariff plan has also posed a significant threat because the C919 heavily relies on American parts. According to analysts at Bank of America, it has 48 suppliers from the US, 26 from Europe, and just 14 from China. "If China stops buying aircraft components from the US, the C919 program is halted or dead," they wrote in an April report. But ongoing negotiations suggest trade tensions are easing. The Air Current and Reuters reported earlier in July that the US government has allowed GE Aerospace to restart vital engine shipments to Comac. Comac's future Beyond the C919, Comac is already working on three other types of jets. That includes two wide-bodies, the C929 and the C939, and a supersonic airliner, the C949. Meanwhile, the industry is divided over whether Comac will be able to challenge Airbus and Boeing's dominance. "Comac is years away from being certified outside China … It's going to be a very limited market for quite some time," John Schmidt, Accenture's global aerospace and defense lead, told Business Insider in an interview at last month's Paris Air Show. Alternatively, Airbus CEO Faury said in February that Comac was more likely to succeed thanks to its "privileged access" to the Chinese market, which accounts for a fifth of global aircraft demand. Guillermet told L'Usine Nouvelle that Comac was putting considerable resources into Europe's certification process. "I have no doubt that it will succeed," he added.
Canada News.Net
07-07-2025
- Business
- Canada News.Net
US lifts GE export ban amid easing of China trade restrictions
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The U.S. government has granted GE Aerospace permission to resume jet engine shipments to China's COMAC, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters, signaling a potential softening in trade tensions that have escalated under President Donald Trump's latest round of tariffs and restrictions. The license reinstatement comes after several weeks of curbs affecting a range of exports, including high-value aerospace components. GE was officially notified this week that it could restart engine deliveries. The move follows other U.S. concessions this week, including lifting restrictions on chip design software and ethane producers. While temporary, these steps suggest ongoing dialogue between the two countries despite their sharp trade rivalry. GE Aerospace did not respond to a request for comment, and the Commerce Department, which issued the notification, also declined to comment. The affected licenses include engines sold to China's state-owned aerospace manufacturer COMAC, which is developing aircraft to compete with Airbus ( and Boeing (BA.N) on the global stage. A Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesperson welcomed the development: "Dialogue and cooperation are the right path forward, while threats and coercion lead nowhere," they said. "The U.S. should continue to meet China halfway." COMAC and the Chinese embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment. The initial restrictions were introduced after China imposed export controls on rare earths and magnets, key materials in global technology supply chains. That move was in retaliation for a new wave of U.S. tariffs announced by President Trump earlier this year. The license suspension lifted for GE covers its LEAP-1C engine, made for COMAC's C919 single-aisle aircraft, and its CF34 engine, used in the C909 regional jet, the person familiar with the matter said. The LEAP-1C is produced via a joint venture between GE Aerospace and France's Safran. Although the C919 is manufactured in China, many of its critical parts are sourced from overseas suppliers. At least one other aerospace company also had its license suspensions lifted on Thursday, another source said, without naming the firm. Honeywell, which supplies COMAC with an auxiliary power unit, flight control system, wheels, brakes, and navigation equipment, did not respond to a request for comment. Collins Aerospace, a unit of RTX, also declined to comment on its licensing status.
Business Insider
03-07-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Airbus Stock (NASDAQ:EADSY) Notches Up With New Interest in Long-Range Aircraft
Aircraft maker Airbus (EADSY) occupies an interesting position in the aircraft market as, effectively, part of a duopoly with Boeing (BA). And there is a new development that Airbus has seen coming from the Asian market that bears watching. There is a growing interest in long-range aircraft, to the point where some airlines are changing previous orders to the longer-range breed. That left investors considering the matter further, and gave Airbus a fractional boost in Thursday afternoon's trading. Don't Miss TipRanks' Half-Year Sale Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. Make smarter investment decisions with TipRanks' Smart Investor Picks, delivered to your inbox every week. The reports note that AirAsia is currently talking to Airbus about converting an order for narrow-body aircraft to an order for A321XLR models instead. AirAsia is a budget airline that is currently in the midst of restructuring, reports note, so a certain amount of change in its property, plant, and equipment priorities makes some sense. AirAsia is currently working to complete a financial reorganization, but was also in talks to buy another 50 to 70 Airbus aircraft within the next three months. In fact, reports note, AirAsia currently has outstanding orders with Airbus of over 350 planes in total. There was also a potential order for a hefty quantity of A220 planes—a smaller aircraft overall—but those have been pushed aside for now. Given that Airbus has a production backlog of over 8,500 aircraft, it is a safe bet that AirAsia's planes are nowhere near production just yet. Changing the order accordingly might be within possibility. The Unexpected COMAC Revival The Boeing / Airbus duopoly has been somewhat shaky for some time now. There are, after all, other aircraft makers out there. Embraer (ERJ), for instance, is a thing, though nowhere near on either Boeing or Airbus' scale. But then there is COMAC, the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China. While this darkest of horses has been in the background for years, it recently made a move that may turn the duopoly into a triumvirate…someday. Air China (AIRYY), just Tuesday, launched its first international service flight using a COMAC C909 aircraft. The C909 is generally regarded as a regional aircraft, with seating that generally runs between 78 and 90. It is a smaller aircraft, but for regional flights that have shorter turnaround times, such aircraft are not out of line. The flight ran 90 minutes, from Hohhot in northern China to Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, but still represented a major step forward for COMAC's ambitions. Is Airbus Stock a Good Buy Right Now? Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on EADSY stock based on one Buy assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 40.08% rally in its share price over the past year, the average EADSY price target of $38.80 per share implies 25.15% downside risk.
Business Times
03-07-2025
- Business
- Business Times
US lifts license suspensions for GE jet engines to China's COMAC
THE US Department of Commerce informed GE Aerospace on Thursday that it was once again allowed to ship jet engines to China's COMAC, lifting license suspensions issued several weeks ago, according to a person familiar with the matter. GE did not respond to an email request for comment, nor did the Commerce Department. The license suspensions were among a wide swathe of new restrictions imposed on US exports to China in recent weeks, as the trade war between the world's two biggest economies moved from retaliatory tariffs to disrupting each other's supply chains. Restrictions also have been lifted this week on other sectors, including chip design software and ethane, in a sign of further de-escalating trade tensions. The licenses for GE Aerospace affect engines for China's state-owned aerospace manufacturer COMAC, which is developing commercial planes to compete with dominant planemakers Airbus and Boeing. The licenses are to ship Leap-1C engines to COMAC for its C919 single-aisle aircraft, and GE's CF34 engine for COMAC's C909 regional jet, according to the person familiar, who declined to be identified because they were not authorised to speak publicly. The LEAP 1-C engines are the product of a joint venture between GE Aerospace and France's Safran. The C919 is made in China but many of its components come from overseas. Reuters could not immediately determine which other aerospace companies may have been affected by the Commerce Department's unwinding of restrictions. REUTERS
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
China's upstart planemaker hails 'breakthrough' in its plan to take on Boeing and Airbus
China's first passenger jet, the Comac C909, celebrated nine years since its maiden flight. Air China launched its first international service with the type on Tuesday. It's another sign of Comac's growing ambitions to cut into the Airbus-Boeing duopoly. Chinese homegrown planemaker Comac is one step closer to challenging Boeing and Airbus. Comac's C909, the planemaker's first jet, is designed for regional journeys, with a capacity between 78 and 90 seats. That makes it smaller than any jet currently produced by Airbus or Boeing, instead likelier to compete with those built by the Brazilian manufacturer Embraer. It attracts less attention than the larger C919 — a similar model to the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 — but is still a key part of Comac's ambitions. As Saturday marked nine years since the C909's maiden flight, China's official state news agency Xinhua interviewed the jet's chief designer, Chen Yong. He called it "a pioneer in my country's commercial aircraft field," adding that it achieved "a breakthrough" by being China's first commercial aircraft. Tuesday then saw flag carrier Air China launch its first international service with the C909. A water-cannon salute greeted the plane as it landed in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar after a 90-minute journey from Hohhot, in China's north. "We look forward to it continuing to write the pride of domestic aircraft in the future," the airline said in a post on Weibo. That came after Lao Airlines, the flag carrier of Laos, leased two C909s from Comac and started operations in April, Xinhua reported. Later that month, Vietnam's VietJet also leased two of the jets from Chengdu Airlines, launching daily flights between Ho Chi Minh City and the nearby Con Dao archipelago. These are promising developments for the small jet, which Comac renamed from the ARJ21 last November, unifying its brand in a sign of growing ambitions. However, only 166 such planes have been delivered, Chen said. The plane also looks very similar to the McDonnell Douglas MD-80. One of Comac's predecessor companies partnered with the American planemaker in the 1980s. Meanwhile, Comac has faced allegations of corporate espionage over the C919. In 2022, a Chinese intelligence officer, Yanjun Xu, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after a US jury found him guilty of trying to steal technology related to GE Aviation's engines. The aviation industry remains divided on Comac's chances of competing with the likes of Boeing and Airbus. "Comac is years away from being certified outside China … It's going to be a very limited market for quite some time," John Schmidt, Accenture's aerospace and defense lead, told Business Insider in an interview at last month's Paris Air Show. Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said in February that the sector could go "from a duopoly to a potential triopoly." He added that Comac was more likely to succeed thanks to its "privileged access" to the Chinese market, which accounts for a fifth of global aircraft demand. Read the original article on Business Insider Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
