ZHUHAI, China: China unveiled 50 new orders for its COMAC C919 passenger jet at the opening of the country’s main air show and promised to assist in the rebirth of one of the most famous names in aviation — defunct US carrier Eastern Air Lines.
Potentially worth several billion dollars, the orders for China’s first commercial passenger jet dominated the first day of the China Airshow, held every two years in the southern city of Zhuhai, along with fresh evidence of China’s military ambitions.
The C919 is designed to challenge Airbus and Boeing in the largest segment of the $100bn annual jetliner market.
Tuesday’s orders for the 150-seat jet boosted the official tally to 380, reaching the state-owned manufacturer’s declared breakeven point of 300-400 orders.
However, Western analysts say it will be some time before the aircraft, due to make its maiden flight in 2014, proves both its technical worth and its financial viability.
“You can always build a jet — you can practically Google it, in fact,” said Virginia-based aerospace analyst Richard Aboulafia. “But the real skill is creating something the market wants and then selling and financing it.”
Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) announced orders for 20 aircraft each from local carriers Joy Air and Hebei Aviation Group.
Its only foreign customer GECAS, the leasing and financing unit of General Electric which co-produces the engines, agreed to buy 10 more, taking its total order for the plane to 20.
Others that have expressed interest include Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair and British Airways, according to COMAC.
Separately, COMAC forecast the global passenger fleet would double in size over the next 20 years, thanks mainly to a sharp increase in demand from China where annual passenger traffic would grow an average 7.2 percent each year to 2031.
In its 2012-2031 Market Forecast report, COMAC predicted 31,739 new planes, valued at $3.9 trillion, would be needed worldwide over the next two decades to meet demand. China alone would need nearly 5,000 new planes in that time.
In a surprise move, the state manufacturer also announced tentative purchase plans by investors said to be planning to resurrect US-based Eastern Air Lines, which went bankrupt in 1991.
There have been sporadic reports of efforts to relaunch the airline, whose forked logo was seen on display as a backdrop to yesterday’s signing ceremony.
The announcement puzzled several delegates, including some who had done business with the original Eastern, who said little had been heard about the re-invented airline’s plans or its leadership. “We do not comment on our customers,” a COMAC spokesman said.
Once led by former World War I ace Eddie Rickenbacker and later by former Apollo astronaut Frank Borman, Miami-based Eastern Air Lines rose to become one of the largest airlines in the world before losing a battle against low-cost competition. “We are still a young company. The start-up investment has not been finalised yet,” Jack Shi, senior vice president for commercial development of Eastern Air Lines, said.
Reuters
