Boeing Dreamliners delivered to China after 4 years of blockade, but local manufacturer Comac is growing
Boeing on Thursday delivered a 787 Dreamliner directly to a Chinese airline for the first time since November 2019, a milestone that could open up the possibility of deliveries of the manufacturer's cash cow, the 737 Max.
The Boeing 787-9 for privately held Juneyao Airlines departed outside Boeing's Everett, Washington plant for Shanghai, Boeing said Thursday. The last delivery of a new Boeing 787 to a Chinese airline was in 2021 through a leasing company.
Boeing sent the plane as China nears a fifth-year hiatus on deliveries of the Boeing 737 Max, the company's best-selling jet.
China grounded the jet in March 2019 following the plane's second fatal crash in about five months, and other countries followed. The United States lifted the ban in 2020 and others followed suit.
Meanwhile, China is already producing its own domestic jet competitor to the 737 MAX. Comac designed and produced the first Chinese narrowbody aircraft, i.e. with a single corridor, the C919, and the regional equivalent ARJ21.
The C919 made its first commercial flight in May and a third aircraft was delivered to China Eastern Airlines earlier this month, but it has not yet entered the international market due to the lack of international airworthiness certification from states United States and Europe.
China is increasing its push for technological self-sufficiency in aviation, but it is difficult to challenge the dominance of Airbus and Boeing, which are expanding their Chinese fleets.
“China's home-grown aircraft are still being introduced to the market, and we suggest the government increase political support for their development, focusing on the purchase and use of domestically produced aircraft and seeking incentives for companies airlines and airports,” said Zhou Xinmin, president of the state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac).
“Meanwhile, we need to further improve airworthiness certification capabilities, to support domestically produced airliners to go [overseas],” he said during a meeting held Thursday at the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
So, for now, China must rely on Western aircraft, such as the Boeing 787 for widebodies, or the 737s for narrowbodies. Airbus has built a factory in China , in order to better penetrate the local market.
Thanks to our Telegram channel you can stay updated on the publication of new Economic Scenarios articles.
The article Boeing Dreamliners delivered to China after 4 years of blockade, but local manufacturer Comac grows comes from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/consegnati-i-boeing-dreamliner-alla-cina-dopo-4-anni-di-blocco-ma-il-produttore-locale-comac-cresce/ on Sat, 23 Dec 2023 09:00:56 +0000.