Boeing’s China orders ‘likely to be affected’ with home-grown C919 passenger jet set for certification

Reports in China suggest the home-grown C919 narrow-body passenger jet could be certified as early as Monday, having been in development since 2008

Single-aisle C919 has been built by the state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China to compete with Boeing’s 737 and Airbus’ A320

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The single-aisle C919 has been built to compete with Boeing’s 737 and Airbus’ A320. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:15pm, 14 Sep 2022Updated: 4:16pm, 15 Sep 2022

Boeing’s return to the critical Chinese market may face another stumbling block, analysts said, after local media reported that China’s home-grown C919 narrow-body passenger jet could be certified as early as Monday.

The China Times newspaper reported on Tuesday that the C919, manufactured by the state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac), will receive certification from China’s aviation regulator at the start of next week, citing unnamed sources close to the Shanghai-based manufacturer.

Yicai news service also reported on Tuesday that the C919 will be certified “as soon as this month” with China Eastern Airlines set to receive the first delivery “within the year”, without citing any sources.

Comac and the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) did not respond to faxed requests for comment on the media reports.

It is significant in its local market where it is likely to displace Airbus and Boeing sales, but this will be extremely difficult to replicate globally

John Strickland

Certification by the CAAC would pave the way for Comac to start delivering its C919, which has been in development since 2008.