China, new C939 jet threatens Boeing's dominance: here are the features

Meanwhile, the Chinese industry has put two aircraft into commercial service. The first is the Arj21 regional jet, which entered service in 2016, flying in the motherland with Air China and China Southern, each of which has 25 such aircraft, and with the Indonesian company TransNusa.

The second aircraft is the C919, a 150-seat single-aisle aircraft, the category of the Boeing 737 and Airbus 320. The C919 started carrying passengers in May 2023 and is only certified in China. Therefore, it cannot fly in Europe.

According to the scant information available so far only one company has the C919 in its fleet, China Eastern, one of the big three Chinese airlines. This carrier has five C919 jets, but according to official announcements has ordered 115. Orders from Air China (100 aircraft long-haul version) and China Southern (100 aircraft standard version) have been added. According to official announcements Comac is expanding its production facilities for the C919 and has received more than 1,000 orders, almost all from Chinese companies and leasing companies.

Beijing is promoting the C919 internationally. The aircraft was deployed at the Singapore International Air Show in February, when it flew outside China for the first time. Comac is seeking certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA); if it is granted, the C919 would also be allowed to carry passengers in Europe.

As for the large aircraft programme, despite the delays Beijing continues to invest. Russia in 2023 abandoned a joint venture between the two countries to develop the C929, the aircraft that had already been under consideration for several years.

Unlike the new C939 of which no details are known, Comac has previously stated that the C929 will have around 280-400 seats and a range of 12,000 km, these characteristics placing it in the same category as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

In April, a report from the C929 fuselage manufacturer stated that the intention is to deliver the first fuselage section by September 2027.

Although there is no official confirmation, it is possible that the new large C939, if it makes its way, will end up absorbing the previous C929 model, as there is an overlap between the two designs.

Italian industry is also involved in Beijing's plans. Leonardo, the former Finmeccanica, announced in November 2021 that it was in talks with Comac and other Chinese industries in the supply chain to set up a joint venture to produce carbon fibre aerostructures for the fuselage of the C929 (then called Cr929). According to plans anticipated by Il Sole 24 Ore, future production would be done mainly in China with industrial partner Kangde, but there would also be work in Italy, at the Grottaglie plant near Taranto.

It is precisely the single-product factory created to make the large fuselage sections of the Boeing 787, the aircraft with which the Chinese jet would compete. Leonardo's plans created friction with Boeing, because the technology to produce the carbon fibre was developed in collaboration with the American group. However, the American manufacturer's crisis and the slowdown in production of the 787 are pushing the Italian group's interest in Beijing even further, not least because of the need to find work for the Apulian factory. And although no parts of the new aircraft have yet been produced, the collaboration between Leonardo and the Chinese industry is still ongoing.