Chinese aerospace firm Comac could be set to shake up the Boeing and Airbus status quo and join them as another major world aircraft manufacturer, the CEO of Airbus has said. Guillaume Faury, speaking at a post-AGM Airbus press conference, told reporters the state-owned Shanghai-based Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, was a potentially serious contender which could turn the sector “from a duopoly to a potential triopoly.”
Faury’s words come as Boeing and Airbus face ongoing supply chain issues that have put them thousands of orders behind schedule. The situation has prompted criticism from a range of airlines that are waiting for deliveries in order to be able to increase connectivity and seat capacity. Some carriers have had to adjust schedules and delay new routes as a result of not having enough planes.
And it is not only airlines that have spoken out about the supply problem. US President Donald Trump said last week that he is “not happy” about Boeing’s postponements to its contracted delivery of new Air Force One fleet aircraft. Putting extra pressure on what Forbes says is the largest individual exporter in the United States by dollar value, Trump said he may consider buying second-hand planes instead, at a time when Boeing has had to implement thousands of redundancies amid poor public sentiment and shares that are 8.5% down.
Trump SLAMS Boeing over new Air Force One planes pic.twitter.com/soDokwh7AK
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) February 20, 2025
In contrast, perhaps, Comac appears to be an increasingly viable competitor. It is the Chinese company’s intention to ramp up production of its single-aisle C919 jet that could give the firm a stronger footing in the market, Faury said, though he noted that “in the current supply environment, ramp up is not an easy task.” Still, he pointed in particular to the manufacturer’s special access to Chinese buyers and its healthy pipeline. While there are just 13 C919s currently in the skies, flown by Air China, China Eastern, and China Southern, by 2023 the firm already boasted over 1000 planes on its order books, according to its Chair, He Dongfeng. What’s more, it is in talks with executives in growing travel marketplaces such as Saudi Arabia and Brazil.
✈️Discover new destinations with our COMAC C919. China Southern Airlines is committed to providing the best travel experience.
— China Southern Airlines (@CSAIRGlobal) January 13, 2025
#AllaboutC919 #ImpressionofCSAir #CSAir pic.twitter.com/ybw0jJMFOO
All those factors have led Faury to note that “Other aircraft manufacturers have tried to enter into this very competitive space in the past from other countries, not necessarily successfully, but I believe Comac is more likely to succeed.”
Airbus may be deemed well-placed to defend itself, thanks to plans to increase its A320 production in China, with a second Tianjin assembly line due to go into action before the end of 2025. The European giant’s 2024 financial results revealed revenue up by 6% for the year and a consolidated order book sitting at €629 billion, up by €75 billion. Its challenges are mainly around space and defence where “some US players are disrupting the ecosystem and going at scale on new technologies,” Faury warned shareholders.
