Chinese Aviation Industry

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Military trainer aircraft CJ-6 gets go-ahead for civilian use
2019-03-01 11:18:40 Editor : Mo Hong'e
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The CJ-6 aircraft. (Photo provided to China News Service)

(ECNS) - The CJ-6, originally a Chinese military trainer aircraft designed and built by Hongdu Aircraft Industry Group, has won approval to be transformed for use in the civilian aviation industry.

A ceremony to issue the necessary Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) credentials to the CJ-6 was held at Yaohu Airport in Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province on Thursday.

The CJ-6 is the only homegrown aircraft to have been routinely used for pilot candidate selection and training in domestic aviation schools.

Li Jian, deputy director of the CAAC, said the administration issued the airworthiness approval to the CJ-6 after considering its long-standing service and safety record as well as huge market demand.

Luo Ronghuai, general manager of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, said the approval marked a milestone in China's development of general aviation through deeper military-civilian integration.

The aircraft was designed in 1958 and entered into service in 1962, known for its mild speed, sound stability and flexibility.
 
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An aircraft developed by Guanyi General Aviation undergoes a test flight at Hengdian Airport in Zhejiang Province, March 11, 2019.

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The private company said independent intellectual property rights had been secured for the general-purpose aircraft GA20. The 30-minute test flight showed the aircraft flew smoothly and landed safely. (Photo provided to China News Service)

 
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As of 2019-03-04, the domestic ARJ21 aircraft used by Chengdu Airlines has safely carried nearly 300,000 passengers, performed 3,564 flights and 9,609 hours of flight time since its first flight in 2016.

"ARJ21, a domestic aircraft manufactured by COMAC (Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd), has been commercialized and operated on a large scale," Chengdu Airlines official said at the meeting. On November 29, 2015, the first ARJ21 regional airliner arrived in Chengdu, delivered to Chengdu Airlines, and officially entered the market.

After 14 years of R&D, design and continuous test flights, on June 28, 2016, 70 passengers boarding on the ARJ21-700 aircraft flew from Chengdu to Shanghai, this maiden scheduled commercial flight marking that ARJ21 formally entered the airlines operation based in Chengdu, Sichuan. Up to now, Chengdu Airlines has accepted 11 ARJ21 aircraft.

"At present, ARJ21 has more than 20 routes, basically forming a cross-regional official routes, laying a solid foundation for the follow-up development and route network," Chengdu Airlines said at the meeting.

At the meeting it's revealed that in 2018, the ARJ21 operators rose from one to three. In addition to Chengdu Airlines, the ARJ21 aircraft of the Genghis Khan Airlines (a rebrand from the Tianjiao Airlines; based in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia) and Urumqi Airlines (based in Urumqi, Xinjiang) are expected to be operational within this year.

At present, COMAC has delivered 11 ARJ21 aircraft to Chengdu Airlines and one unit to Genghis Khan Airlines. It is expected that one unit of ARJ21 aircraft will be delivered to Urumqi Airlines within this year. The head of COMAC disclosed to reporters that at present, 24 customers have placed orders as many as 528 units of ARJ21 aircraft. In 2018, the annual production capacity of COMAC for ARJ21 aircraft was increased from 6 to 15 units, and is expected to produce more than 20 units in 2019.


国产飞机ARJ21实现商业化的规模化运行
红星新闻
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3月7日，红星新闻记者从中国商用飞机有限公司（以下简称“中国商飞”）与成都航空公司（以下简称“成都航空”）联合举办的2019年度ARJ21示范运营媒体座谈会上获悉，截至2019年3月4日，成都航空使用的国产ARJ21飞机自2016年首航以来，已安全载客近30万人、执行航班3564班次、飞行时长9609小时。

成都航空相关负责人在会上说：“由中国商飞研造的国产飞机ARJ21已实现商业化的规模化运行。”2015年11月29日，首架ARJ21支线客机飞抵成都，交付成都航空，正式进入市场运营。

经过14年的研发、设计以及不断的试飞后，2016年6月28日，ARJ21-700飞机搭载70名乘客从成都飞往上海，标志着ARJ21正式以成都为基地进入航线运营，截至目前，成都航空已接受了11架ARJ21飞机。

成都航空相关负责人在会上表示：“目前，ARJ21共有20余条航线，基本形成了跨地区的干事航线，为后续的发展和航线网络奠定了坚实的基础。”

红星新闻记者在会上获悉，2018年，ARJ21的运营商由1家升至3家，除了成都航空以外，天骄航空与乌鲁木齐航空的ARJ21飞机预计都将在今年年内投入运营。

目前，中国商飞已交付11架ARJ21飞机给成都航空，1架给天骄航空，预计将在今年年内向乌鲁木齐航空交付1架ARJ21飞机。中国商飞相关负责人向记者透露，目前已有24家客户下单528架ARJ21飞机。2018年，商飞对ARJ21的年生产能力由6架上升至15架，预计在2019年生产20架以上。

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Read further about the Genghis Khan Airlines at below link:

Genghis Khan Airlines: what do we know about the new start-up? (2018-08-24)

Summary:
  • Genghis Khan Airlines has ordered up to 50 aircraft from COMAC, shelving initial plans to operate with Bombardier CRJ900s.
  • The new start-up aims to launch in early 2019 and is a rebrand from Tianjiao Airlines.
  • Genghis Khan Airlines agreed with COMAC to establish a flight school and other infrastructure to begin operations.
Situated in Inner Mongolia, an autonomous region of northern China, the new start-up airline referencing the historical figure Genghis Khan is actually a rebrand from the formerly known Tianjiao Airlines.

Earlier in 2018 the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) had awarded Tianjiao preliminary approval to operate at a base at Mongolia’s Hohhot Baita International Airport. Tianjiao Airlines had planned to operate domestic, regional and cargo services with Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft, but it looks like these plans have been shelved in favour of ARJ21s. Tianjiao Airlines was also considering Embraer 190s and A320s before its ARJ21 decision.

As part of establishing regular operations, Genghis Khan Airlines has also agreed with COMAC to establish a flight school, a centre for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) and the Genghis Khan Airlines training centre in Inner Mongolia, according to the airlines’ chairman Hao Yutao. Two tranches of pilots have already started training on the ARJ21. This is potentially another factor leading Genghis Khan Airlines to select the ARJ21, with COMAC supporting the airlines where Bombardier potentially could not.
(… )

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Nutrient

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I just noticed this huge thread and haven't read it all. Apologies if the topic has already been discussed.

With the two crashes of the Boeing 737 Max 8, and the strong whiff of corruption in the FAA's unseemly quick approval of the plane, the Chinese C919 and Chinese/Russian C929 are suddenly hot topics.

The following quote is an eye-opener: "Comac said in November that China’s aviation market will take delivery of 9,000 planes, worth $1.3 trillion, over the next two decades" (emphasis added).


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* The state-owned narrowbody passenger plane is competing with both the 737 Max 8 and Airbus 320.

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A Comac C919 takes off from Shanghai Pudong International Airport during its maiden flight on Dec. 28, 2018. PHOTO: AP IMAGES

Airlines worried about buying from
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have another supplier besides
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to choose from: the Chinese government. The state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China, or
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, is building
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, a narrowbody passenger plane with a capacity of about 170 that the company says has more than 800 orders worldwide. It will compete with the
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—as well as the
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—as part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s ambitious gamble to
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from scratch and break Western companies’ grip on the skies.

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within hours of the Ethiopian Airlines crash, leading a global wave of suspensions. “These kinds of events provide an opportunity for Comac to get their foot in the door,” says Chad Ohlandt, a senior engineer at Rand Corp. in Washington. “If they’re smart, they’re going knocking on doors of whatever 10 airlines are considering buying narrowbody aircraft.”

The company, which started test flights of the C919 in 2017, has received 815 orders from 28 customers, including
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. Comac didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Number of planes to be delivered to Chinese airlines over the next two decades: 9,000

Beijing’s aspirations extend beyond the C919. Comac is working with Moscow-based
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to develop the widebody
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that could eventually fly long-haul routes such as Beijing to New York. State-owned enterprises are developing a complete range of aircraft, including widebodies, turboprops, business jets, helicopters, seaplanes, and even zeppelins. “Strategically speaking, aviation manufacturing is a national imperative,” says Yu Zhanfu, a partner at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants in Beijing who focuses on aerospace and defense. “Once you have aviation manufacturing reaching economies of scale, it will lift the entire industrial chain.” Comac said in November that China’s aviation market will take delivery of 9,000 planes, worth $1.3 trillion, over the next two decades. Two-thirds of those will be single-aisle planes like the Boeing 737 and the C919.

Shanghai-based Comac is building a training center for maintenance engineers, flight attendants, and other airline employees who will fly the C919 and CR929. “They are doing four, five, or six things in parallel,” Marc Szepan, a lecturer in international business at Oxford’s Said Business School, says of China’s master plan. “They’re firing on all cylinders.”

That puts Boeing in the potentially awkward position of competing against one of its partners. Comac and Boeing are co-owners of an assembly center south of Shanghai that opened in December by delivering a 737 Max 8 to Air China. Another Comac plane, the ARJ21 regional jet, competes with aircraft made by
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, which is also forming a joint venture with Boeing. The buyers so far are smaller carriers, including Chengdu Airlines and Genghis Khan Airlines. “Comac is a great competitor and we respect them a lot,” Boeing said in an email. “They are also a great collaborator.” China accounted for about 14 percent of Boeing’s revenue last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

But it’s not all clear skies for Xi. Chinese planes don’t have the safety track record that Western ones do. More important, no Chinese company has the capacity to design and produce engines for commercial jets, says Yong Teng, a partner with L.E.K. Consulting in Shanghai. The C919’s engines are by CFM International, a joint venture of
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and France’s
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.

That technology is at the
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the U.S. Department of Justice brought against two Chinese nationals in October. It said they were intelligence officers who allegedly tried to hack the computer systems of companies to obtain information related to commercial aircraft engines. The U.S. has also unsealed charges against an alleged Chinese agent and accused him of conspiring to steal trade secrets from U.S. aviation and aerospace companies. The Chinese government dismissed the charges. Says Nicholas Eftimiades, a lecturer in the School of Public Affairs at Pennsylvania State University in Harrisburg: “Aerospace technology is the No. 1 target for China espionage.” —With Bruce Einhorn and Dong Lyu

BOTTOM LINE - Chinese President Xi Jinping wants to make his country an aerospace superpower. The Ethiopian Airlines crash may have provided him an opportunity.
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gelgoog

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Meh. The COMAC 919 still isn't in production. The airplane is in the test phase and it will take time for the production to ramp up. Right now I still think they are mostly focused on sales to the internal Chinese market. It does not make much sense to increase sales further since they have enough sales to start production and use their full facilities for years. The Chinese government won't hobble Chinese companies by making them dependent on a product which isn't available yet.

Over the next decade China has such a large demand for aircraft in this segment that they cannot simply manufacture them all by themselves. So Bloomberg is full of hot air as usual.

I think the failure of the 737 MAX 8 will cause a fall in sales or delayed sales yes. But to say these sales will go to COMAC is still premature. The Chinese government knows this. The reason they ground the aircraft was for safety reasons. There is no Chinese sales market rationale around it.

The main beneficiary will be the Airbus A320neo since this is a product that is in manufacture right now. The COMAC 919 and the Irkut MC-21 are also expected to come into this market over the next two years but it is still too early.
 
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Nutrient

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gelgoog said:
Meh. The COMAC 919 still isn't in production. The airplane is in the test phase and it will take time for the production to ramp up.
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The C919's maiden flight was two years ago. The plane is still being certified, and that is probably what is taking a long time.


Right now I still think they are mostly focused on sales to the internal Chinese market. It does not make much sense to increase sales further since they have enough sales to start production and use their full facilities for years.
Click to expand...

Yes, there's little need for Comac to go after foreign sales. China's potential market of $1.3 trillion will be more than enough for a long time.


Over the next decade China has such a large demand for aircraft in this segment that they cannot simply manufacture them all by themselves. So Bloomberg is full of hot air as usual.
Click to expand...

Which means China will be buying a lot from Airbus (and a lot less from Boeing, not only because of the Max 8 disaster, but because of the trade war too). However, China's aircraft demand will be so large that Comac will have a very good chance to grow enormously. I think that was the point of Bloomberg's article.
 
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China Closes in on Plane Order From Africa Amid Overseas Push

  • Ghana’s AWA may order Comac ARJ21 regional jet this month
  • Carrier would be among first overseas customers for model
Chinese planemaker
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is nearing an order from an airline in Ghana, a rare advance overseas for the state-owned company as it attempts to become a real challenger to
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and
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.

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, partly owned by China’s
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may agree this month to buy two Comac ARJ21 regional jets, the carrier’s chief executive officer, John Quan, said in an interview.

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, or Comac, is part of China’s bid to build an aerospace industry from scratch -- and gain more international clout. But so far, its orders have mostly been limited to
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such as China’s state-owned carriers and HNA.

“Our Chinese shareholders are very keen to introduce the aircraft to boost China-Africa trade relations,” said Quan. Comac executives will be in Ghana’s capital Accra, where AWA is based, in late March to possibly sign a memorandum of understanding with the airline, he said.

A Comac representative said the company isn’t aware of any imminent ARJ21 order from AWA but referred to an earlier agreement with HNA that the Chinese conglomerate plans to operate 100 of the planes in the future. HNA couldn’t immediately comment.

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s government, as part of his Belt & Road Initiative, has been helping African governments build airports and other infrastructure. Offering low-cost Chinese-made planes is part of that strategy, said Shukor Yusof, founder of aviation consultancy Endau Analytics in Malaysia.

“It serves the purpose of enlarging Chinese political influence,” he said. “The Chinese are trying to create a market for themselves. They are looking to Africa to have a foothold and once they gain acceptance on a larger scale, then they will start to go beyond those markets.”

With about 80 to 90 seats, Comac’s
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competes with ERJ planes made by
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, the Brazilian company forming a partnership with Boeing, and the A220, designed by Bombardier Inc. but marketed by Airbus. The
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three ARJ21s in 2014, and AWA is just one of the African airlines now being targeted.

Comac is also building the C919, a narrow-body passenger plane that will compete with Boeing’s 737 Max and the Airbus A320neo. Any African breakthrough would come as Boeing
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with the worldwide grounding of the Max, the company’s
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, after two disasters involving the model in five months.

China is pushing for jetliner orders from a number of other African countries.

“Of course they have approached us,”
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CEO Ladislaus Matindi said in an interview last month. “The Chinese come with sweeteners,” he added, without giving details. He said the airline currently has no plans to buy Chinese planes.

Ethiopia’s ambassador to China, Teshome Toga Chanaka, on March 17 posted a photo of himself in a Comac plane at an airshow in Shanghai. “It will not be so long that we will see them in the blue sky,” the ambassador wrote on Twitter.
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