The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China has put two passenger planes in the air and has lofty ambitions for home-grown production

The state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) has put two types of civilian jets in the air and two bigger ones on the drawing board after 22 years of work.

Comac aims to advance China’s goal of technological self-sufficiency and sell its aircraft overseas. The Shanghai-based manufacturer seeks to compete largely with Airbus and Boeing, because their aircraft have similar specs.

Here is a dossier on each of the four aircraft types:

1. ARJ21 small aircraft
The ARJ21 covers a series of turbofan aircraft for 78 to 97 seats and relatively short flights of 2,225 to 3,700km (1,382-2,299 miles) – far enough to fly popular domestic routes in China. ARJ stands for “advanced regional jet”.

ARJ21 development started in 2002, and the aircraft flew six years later. Regional carrier Chengdu Airlines began using the aircraft – China’s first for civilian use – in 2015, and TransNusa Airlines of Indonesia has bought the planes since 2022. An estimated 100 have been sold altogether.

Comac reported a combined 200,000 flight hours for this aircraft type as of March last year, according to the CAPA Centre for Aviation market research organisation.

The ARJ21 compares in size to the defunct Boeing 717, the retired McDonnell Douglas MD 80-90 line of planes, and the Embraer E190-E2 model.

McDonnell Douglas manufactured in Shanghai before merging with Boeing in 1997, and Comac has used MD90 tooling for ARJ21 assembly. General Electric supplies the Chinese plane’s twin CF34 engines, and Ukrainian planemaker Antonov designed the wings.
The still-flying Embraer planes can take 106 passengers and fly as far as 5,278km per trip.

China’s C919 (left) and ARJ21 passenger jets are seen parked at Van Don International Airport in Vietnam earlier this year. Photo: Facebook/Van Don International Airport
China’s C919 (left) and ARJ21 passenger jets are seen parked at Van Don International Airport in Vietnam earlier this year. Photo: Facebook/Van Don International Airport

2. C919 narrowbody aircraft
C919 narrowbody planes can fit 158 to 192 seats and fly from 4,075 to 5,555km. After 15 years of research, the plane debuted in May 2023 as part of the China Eastern Airlines fleet. Comac has received at least 300 orders this year from major Chinese airlines.
Many key parts of the C919 are said to be made by American or European suppliers.

Its engine, for example, is produced by CFM International, a joint venture between GE Aerospace of the US and France’s Safran Aircraft Engines.

The C919 compares most closely to the Airbus 320 and Boeing 737 lines of aircraft.

Planes in the A320 series can seat 140 to 180 passengers and can fly 6,300km in one journey. Boeing 737s hold 138 to 230 seats and fly 5,954 to 7,084km.

China’s C919 passenger jet completes maiden commercial flight from Shanghai to Beijing

3. C929 widebody aircraft

Comac says it is working on a twin-aisle plane, the C929, for as many as 290 passengers. It would be able to fly as far as 12,000km in one trip. The distance from Beijing to New York is about 11,000km.

Airlines could take deliveries of this model as soon as 2027.

The aircraft firm said last month that it was scouting for experts across industries to build the C2929 with made-in-China parts and technology.

It is not yet clear how Comac will source other parts for the aircraft, said Eric Lin, head of Greater China research with UBS in Hong Kong.

Comac has completed an agreement for the construction of metals, composites and components for the C929 aircraft in a deal with Hunan Aerospace Huanyu Communication Technology at no more than US$175 million, according to a stock market filing.
The C929 would compare closest to the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 aircraft families in terms of maximum flight distances, Lin said. A350 models can take 300 to 350 passengers on flights up to 15,000km. Boeing 787 models can fly 13,600 to 14,600km and carry 242 to 290 passengers.

A prototype of China’s C929 passenger jet is displayed in March at Comac’s Shanghai Aircraft Design and Research Institute. Photo: Getty Images
A prototype of China’s C929 passenger jet is displayed in March at Comac’s Shanghai Aircraft Design and Research Institute. Photo: Getty Images

4. C939 jumbo aircraft
China has worked out preliminary designs for this giant plane, though it could take years before Comac develops a testable prototype, a source familiar with the aircraft maker’s work told the Post.

The C939 will be a widebody, twinjet airliner similar to the Boeing 777, said Mayur Patel, the Asia head for industry data platform OAG Aviation. It would have the capacity for 400 seats and a range of 13,000km, he said.

Boeing 777 can seat 301 to 368 passengers and fly 9,700 to 15,840km.

It is too early to know where Comac would source parts, but China is working separately on its first turbofan commercial aircraft engine, the CJ1000.
Deliveries of the C939 will not start for at least 10 years, and will occur only if Comac has “adequate resources” with mostly imported components, said Richard Aboulafia, managing director of the US-based aerospace consultancy AeroDynamic Advisory.