After years of delays, China’s first large homemade passenger jetliner will take to the air for its maiden flight in the first half of this year, state media reported.
State-owned aircraft maker Commercial Aircraft Corp of China, or Comac, based in Shanghai, has nearly completed work on the C919, the ruling Communist Party newspaper People's Daily reported.
The C919 was originally due to fly in 2015, but has been beset by delays blamed on manufacturing problems. It is now scheduled to enter service in 2019, aimed at competing with the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737, along with the Russian Irkut MC-21.
Airbus and Boeing say the market for new aircraft will be worth more than US$5 trillion over the next 20 years. Industry experts say China faces a tough slog capturing a significant share of that market, even with government support. The narrow-body aircraft is a key symbol of China’s ambitions to establish itself as a global supplier of aircraft.
“We tested the whole aircraft, its key components and connecting parts,” the Xinhua news agency quoted Li Qiang, an expert at Comac’s design and research center, as saying.
China Eastern Airlines is the launch customer for the plane. Comac previously said that it had received 570 orders for the C919 passenger jet from 23 customers.
The C919 is part of China’s efforts to develop a homegrown aviation industry in one of the world’s biggest and fastest-growing air travel markets. China currently relies heavily on foreign-made aircraft.
Last June, the ARJ21-700, China’s first homemade regional jet, made its debut flight carrying 70 passengers. The jet is one of a series of initiatives launched by the party to transform China from the world’s low-cost factory into a creator of profitable technology in aviation, clean energy and other fields.
The ARJ21, also made by Comac, is a rival to aircraft made by Bombardier of Canada and Brazil’s Embraer.
* Agencies
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