China aims to break the jet-making duopoly with a plane to rival Boeing and Airbus

Comac on the tarmac… The market for commercial aircraft is a duopoly dominated by American Boeing and European Airbus. But as Boeing’s blues cause delivery setbacks for airlines, aspiring rivals have more runway. Cue: this year a Chinese competitor made its international debut. Meet Comac (aka: the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China), a state-owned planemaker that China hopes will one day rival Boeing and Airbus with its C919.

• Jet set: In February the C919 flew outside Chinese territory for the first time in a flyby at the Singapore Airshow. FYI: it’s so far certified to fly passengers in mainland China only.

• The C919 had its first commercial flight last year for China Eastern Airlines, flying passengers from Shanghai to Beijing. The jet can carry up 192 passengers, about the same as Boeing’s 737 and Airbus’ A320. China Eastern Airlines has five C919s.

Boeing left a hole… and we’re not talkin’ about the sealed door that yeeted off a 737 mid-flight. Its woes have left a gap in the market, and airlines are struggling to get their hands on jets to meet booming travel demand. As Boeing faces growing FAA scrutiny and a DOJ criminal investigation, Airbus has widened its jet-delivering lead. There’s also more room for newbies like Comac to gain a foothold in the passenger-aircraft market, which has an extremely high barrier to entry (making commercial planes = v complicated).

• TL;DR: “The Chinese are exploiting the shortage of aircraft in the marketplace,” aviation analyst Shukor Yusof told Sherwood.

• Still: It’s widely believed in the industry that the overall quality of the C919 doesn’t hold up to comparable models from Airbus and Boeing (for one thing, Comac’s plane is much heavier — read: less efficient).