Boeing, Airbus Quiet So Far at Zhuhai Air Show

Source: Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (Comac)

The opening day the Zhuhai Air Show — China’s largest such event — saw little action from the world’s two leading commercial aircraft manufacturers. China’s own Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China, known as Comac, did announce an order for 30 of its yet-to-fly C919 single-aisle, narrow-body passenger jet.

The C919 competes with the 737 family of planes from Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) and the A320 family from Airbus, and Comac has taken orders so far for 430 of the planes, mostly from Chinese leasing companies and carriers. General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE), through its GE Capital Aviation Services leasing subsidiary, has ordered up to 10 C919s and is supplying the engines for the plane through its CFM International joint venture with France’s Safran.

Airbus and Boeing are making some noise as well. Airbus’s China COO announced that the company plans to double the annual value of aircraft components its sources from China to $1 billion by 2020. Boeing made a similar announcement, saying that over the next few years the company expects to double the $2 billion it has spent on sourcing parts from China over the past 30 years. According to Reuters, Boeing has signed a deal with Aviation Industry Corp. of China to produce composite tail parts for the 777 beginning in 2017.

On Sunday, Boeing announced an order for 80 737 MAX 8 aircraft from Japanese leasing company SMBC Aviation Capital Ltd. The order was valued at $8.5 billion at list prices. After seeing the rather sour photo of the leaders of Japan and China shaking hands at the APEC meeting that started Monday in Beijing, it is easy to imagine that SMBC asked Boeing not to announce the agreement at Zhuhai.

The Comac C919 stacks up well compared to the Airbus A320neo and the Boeing 737 MAX 8. Seating capacity on the C919 is 156 with mixed class seating and 168 in an all-economy configuration. The C919’s engine is a variant of the LEAP-1A that Airbus will use on its A320neo and the LEAP-1B that Boeing will use on its 737 MAX. The C919 version is called the LEAP-1C and should be equally fuel-efficient.

The C919 is not an immediate threat either to the A320 or the 737. The first test flight will not come until late next year and first deliveries are not scheduled until late 2017 or early 2018. But, as industry analyst Leeham points out, “The Chinese are incredibly competitive once they get the hang of things, so the threat [to Airbus’s and Boeing’s duopoly] is to be taken seriously.”

ALSO READ: 12 Countries That Hate Their Government Most