China’s first modern commercial jetliner entered passenger service this week, debuting with 70 passengers on a two-hour domestic Chengdu Airlines flight from Chengdu to Shanghai on Tuesday.
The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) ARJ21-700 regional jet is part of China’s effort to become a major player in the commercial aircraft market.
The Associated Press notes China’s fledgling aircraft manufacturing program is “one of a series of initiatives launched by the ruling Communist Party to transform China from the world's low-cost factory into a creator of profitable technology in aviation, clean energy and other fields.”
ARCHIVES: Chinese jetmaker nears delivery of first passenger jets (May 2014)
In aviation, China sees a possibility to develop a home-grown industry in aircraft manufacturing. Currently, the bulk of the world’s passenger jets are made by manufacturers based in North America, Europe and Brazil.
Still, AFP writes the entry into service for the ARJ21 – short for “Asian Regional Jet for the 21st Century” – comes “after years of delays raised questions about (China's) ambitious plans for domestically-produced planes."
Additionally, AFP notes “the aircraft still lacks the crucial U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification that would allow it to fly in U.S. skies, and most manufacturers do not yet view the Comac plane as a competitive threat.”
China, of course, is already one of the world’s biggest aviation markets and is expected to grow even larger in the coming decades. Against that backdrop, AP notes China’s “major airlines are state-owned, which gives the ruling party a captive pool of potential customers that can be ordered to buy Chinese-made aircraft.”
In the interim, Chinese officials lauded the debut of the ARJ21, which can seat up to 90 passengers and has a range of about 1,300 miles.
"The first flight of the ARJ21 marks the beginning of commercial, or passenger, operations for the ARJ21 and signifies the first time a domestically made regional jet has been used by a Chinese airline," said Jin Zhuanglong, chairman of Comac.
Chengdu Air has 30 ARJ21s on order and "is scheduled to introduce the second aircraft in August and three more by the end of this year," Air Transport World writes.
The Wall Street Journal says “though touted as a homegrown Chinese product, the ARJ21 is influenced by the McDonnell Douglas MD-90 and relies heavily on foreign technology, including avionics from Rockwell Collins, engines from General Electric and a wing designed by Ukraine’s Antonov State Co.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, a report from China’s CCTV offered a different take, saying in its report that “analysts and industry experts say that the development of the ARJ21 shows China has mastered the research and design capabilities to produce regional jets.”
More broadly, the market for regional jets is currently dominated by Brazil’s Embraer and Canada’s Bombardier. Upstart manufacturers in Russia and Japan have also recently added to the race for a piece of that market.
China’s ambitions extend beyond the manufacture of regional jets.
Comac is also working on a full-size jetliner: the C919. Like the ARJ21, it also has been beset by a series of delays. It’s now expected to make its first flight by the end of this year and to enter commercial airline service in 2019 -- both years later than first thought.
Comac's C919 jet would compete with similar-sized planes made by the world's two giant jetmakers: Boeing of the United States and Europe's Airbus. Boeing's 737 and Airbus' A320 series of jets are among the best-selling aircraft in the world.
Boeing projects China will need more than 5,500 civilian jetliners to meet its growing demand during the next 20 years, placing the value of those planes at about $780 billion.
