Latest news with #C929
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
China's C929 widebody passenger jet to make maiden commercial flight by 2035: source
The company developing China's first home-grown widebody passenger jet – the C929 – is aiming to see it make its maiden commercial flight by 2035, foreign partners have been told at this week's Paris Air Show, according to a person familiar with the discussion. Advertisement The time frame, although longer than previous estimates, was in line with the 'long-haul' one that Boeing and Airbus used when developing their first widebodies and reflected Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China's (Comac) 'prudence' and emphasis on safety, the person, who requested anonymity, added. Comac told its partners this week that it expects the C929 – which is likely to resemble the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 series – to be certified in China by 2032. 'Currently we plan to achieve TC (type certificate) in 2032,' a senior Comac manager said during a presentation at the air show. 'The C929 has entered the detailed design phase ... this is our future. We would like to offer a new twin-aisle aircraft to our customers.' Advertisement The C919, Comac's first mainline narrowbody jet, went into commercial operation in China in May 2023, less than a year after it was certified by the Civil Aviation Administration of China in September 2022. The widebody C929 will carry up to 440 people and have a maximum range of 12,000km – roughly the distance from Shanghai to New York.
South China Morning Post
09-06-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
How China's aerospace rise is reshaping global skies
Date and time: Thursday, June 26, 2025 | 10.30-11.30am HKT Add to calendar: iOS | Android | Outlook The webinar will be live-streamed on this page on June 26, 2025, at 10.30am HKT. Bookmark this page or add it to your calendar to stay informed. You may also submit your questions to the panel and get them answered during the webinar. China's aerospace ambitions are taking flight, with the homegrown C919 narrow-body jet expanding commercial operations and plans for the wide-body C929 aircraft under way. This ascent, spearheaded by the state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac), seeds a potential shift in a global aviation market long dominated by Boeing and Airbus. The implications speak to China's overall industrial development strategies, its quest for technological self-sufficiency and international trade dynamics. However, this rapid ascent also brings to the forefront complex challenges about China's ability to rival established players. How can Comac scale aircraft production when global supply chains are in flux, for example? How does it plan to attain Western certification and navigate fast-changing geopolitical currents? To address these critical issues, SCMP will host a webinar with external guest speaker Jason Li Hanming, a US-based aviation analyst, and SCMP reporters Frank Chen and Ralph Jennings. Submit your questions today and get them answered during the webinar. They will explore key areas including:
South China Morning Post
19-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Female engineer leads China's challenge to Boeing and Airbus widebody airliners
A female engineer who graduated from a Chinese university subjected to US sanctions and started out designing air defence systems is now steering the C929 programme aimed at producing a home-grown airliner as advanced and spacious as the widebodies made by Boeing and Airbus. Advertisement Having left her mark on China's decades-long endeavour to launch the C909 and C919 regional and narrowbody models, Zhao Chunling has been lead designer for the ambitious widebody jet programme since 2023 as Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (Comac) attempts to play catch-up with the Western duopoly. Zhao graduated from Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU) in Xian, the capital of Shaanxi province, in 1991. The university is frequently included on United States sanctions lists for its close ties to China's military, with staff and students banned from buying or using American technology, including mathematical software. Despite the sanctions, NPU has taken part in the development of numerous weapons, including powerful fighter jets. Advertisement But Zhao's career flight path did not lead to civil aviation engineering immediately after graduation in 1991.
South China Morning Post
11-02-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
China dreams of building a world-class jumbo jet. Can it do it without the West?
China has long held ambitions of turning global aviation into an 'ABC' market: breaking the duopoly of Airbus and Boeing with the entry of world-class Chinese jets. Advertisement That strategy is already well under way, with the state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) having already received orders for hundreds of its regional and narrowbody planes, the C909 and C919. Now, the Chinese aircraft manufacturer is doubling down on plans to expand its fleet to include widebody models – including a self-developed answer to Boeing's iconic 747 jumbo jet. Enter the C929 and C939. Comac appears laser-focused on producing its own liners capable of undertaking long-haul flights, an endeavour that is not only being driven by market demand but also political and strategic factors. Advertisement 'There are not too many other engineering products other than big planes that are so visible, so recognisable,' said David Yu, a professor at New York University Shanghai specialising in aviation financing. 'Just like America and Europe, China has many reasons to develop and fly home-grown widebodies that reflect its status and ambitions.'
South China Morning Post
11-02-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Can China's bet on home-grown jumbo jets challenge the Airbus-Boeing duopoly?
Frank Chen in Shanghai and Ralph Jennings in Hong Kong Published: 6:00am, 11 Feb 2025 Updated: 11:17am, 11 Feb 2025 China has long held ambitions of turning global aviation into an 'ABC' market: breaking the duopoly of Airbus and Boeing with the entry of world-class Chinese jets. That strategy is already well under way, with the state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) having already received orders for hundreds of its regional and narrowbody planes, the C909 and C919. Now, the Chinese aircraft manufacturer is doubling down on plans to expand its fleet to include widebody models – including a self-developed answer to Boeing's iconic 747 jumbo jet. Enter the C929 and C939. Comac appears laser-focused on producing its own liners capable of undertaking long-haul flights, an endeavour that is not only being driven by market demand but also political and strategic factors. 'There are not too many other engineering products other than big planes that are so visible, so recognisable,' said David Yu, a professor at New York University Shanghai specialising in aviation financing. 'Just like America and Europe, China has many reasons to develop and fly home-grown widebodies that reflect its status and ambitions.'
