China signaled in clear terms its plans to mount a determined–and relatively prompt–challenge of Boeing’s and Airbus’s domination of the world’s single-aisle airplane market during Hong Kong’s Asian Aerospace 2009, where Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) for the first time appeared at an international airshow. Displaying a large-scale model of its C919 concept as the centerpiece of its exhibit, Comac expects the 130- to 200-seat airplane to enter service in 2016, meaning it would pre-empt by at least four years any replacements for the Boeing 737NG or Airbus A320.
“Securing [Comac] was the biggest breakthrough for this year’s show,” said Richard Thiele, head of global sales for organizer Reed Exhibitions. “It makes Asian Aerospace highly relevant not just to those hoping to sell to China’s airlines, but it opens up the long-awaited Chinese manufacturing supply chain to Western partners.”
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