China’s homegrown C919 jetliner, seen as a potential rival to Airbus and Boeing, made its international debut at the Singapore Airshow.
C919, which is the first passenger jet plane domestically manufactured in China, staged a flyby at the Changi Exhibition Center on Sunday.
More than 1,000 companies from around 50 countries are taking part in the biennial air show, which has been revived after the Covid pandemic.
A narrow-body airliner developed by state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, or Comac, C919 launched its commercial service with China Eastern Airlines flight between Shanghai and Beijing in May last year.
Currently, the C919 is authorized only for domestic flights.
Brunei’s GallopAir is reportedly set to buy C919 aircraft in the third quarter of 2024.
Last month, CAAC had expressed its intent to work with EASA to validate the jet air plane’s airworthiness certificate for Europe.
In September 2023, Comac Chairman He Dongfeng revealed that shortened and extended variants of the C919 would be built, covering a range from 130 to 240 seats. At its maximum, it would fit nearly 50 more passengers than the current variant, which can seat 156-192 people.
The future shortened version of the C919 is anticipated to serve routes with high-altitude landing sites. In December, Comac signed a deal with Tibet Airlines to jointly develop the high-altitude version of the jet to serve passengers in the Tibetan-Himalayan plateau.
Having similarity in dimensions with those of the Airbus A320, the C919 will showcase the Chinese government’s “Made in China” strategy, which aims to depend less on foreign aircraft manufacturers.
At the same time, there are reports opining that the C919 is outdated by 10-15 years compared to the latest versions of the A320 and Boeing 737, and will probably cost more to operate.
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