China has been one of the biggest buyers of
Airbus and
Boeing aircraft for many years but, just like in the auto or smartphone industries, the priority is always to develop a homegrown product that can compete internationally.
So it was another milestone last month when state-owned aircraft-maker the
Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (Comac) delivered the first ARJ-21, a homegrown jet, to domestic low-cost carrier
Chengdu Airlines.
It’s a major advance for China’s domestic jet industry which the government is keen to expand to ultimately rival Boeing and Airbus, and the 80-seater is seen longer term as competing with Brazil’s
Embraer, Japan’s
Mitsubishi and Canada’s Bombardier.
China is also developing a narrow-body jet, the C-919, to compete with the Airbus A320 and Boeing.
After years of delay because of technical issues, the ARJ-21 was cleared to fly in the domestic market by civil aviation regulators Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) at the end of 2014, but it has not been given a certification by the
US Federal Aviation Administration, which will limit its access to overseas markets as only a few markets recognise the CAAC certification.
Comac has received 350 orders for the ARJ-21, mostly from domestic airlines and leasing companies. In September, Comac said it had signed a preliminary deal with
ICBC Leasing to supply 10 ARJ-21 jets and 10 of its C-919 models to Thai airline
City Airways.
There are also possible ramifications for
Europe as the certification issue could force Comac to eventually ask the
European Aviation Safety Agency to certify the jet rather than wait for the US
Federal Aviation Administration.
China’s Comac delivers first homegrown ARJ-21 jet to Chengdu Airlines
Time for China to promote the recognition of the CAAC certificate in its business dealings with other countries. China needs to combine the recognition of its standards just like America has done over the decades.