Airbus and Boeing are the main suppliers of aircraft to
airlines, but the European planemaker is struggling to boost production amid
record orders and Boeing is under scrutiny from regulators after a mid-air
panel blowout on a new plane in January.
The narrow-body C919 jet, which is manufactured by the
Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) and is pitted against Airbus’
A320 and Boeing’s 737 MAX, is a “perfectly fine aircraft”, Firoz Tarapore said
in a recent interview.
“Over the next decade COMAC has a unique opportunity to
break this duopoly into a triopoly because on the one hand Airbus is sold out,
and Boeing is having production problems,” he said in Dubai this month.
COMAC’s planes fly almost exclusively within China and with
one Indonesian airline. The planemaker is pursuing certification with Europe’s
aviation regulator for its C919 jet while also looking for international
customers.
Aviation industry sources, however, caution that COMAC is a
long way from making inroads internationally, especially without benchmark
certifications from the United States or European Union, or more efficient
planes.
Tarapore said that the demand for aircraft from China and
nearby countries is “extremely robust” and that COMAC has a “a very good chance
of making a solid inroad”.
As global travel surged after the pandemic, airlines rushed
to order new planes. But problems in the aerospace supply chain and aircraft
maintenance industry, including labour shortages and engine issues, have
resulted in delivery delays of new jets complicating airline growth plans and
garnering COMAC attention.
Airbus has said production slots for its popular A320 family
of aircraft are sold out until the end of the decade.
Boeing, on the other hand, is engulfed in a sprawling safety
crisis. It faces investigations by U.S. regulators, possible prosecution over
past actions and slumping production of its strongest-selling jet, the 737 MAX.
Tarapore said he hopes Boeing will initiate structural and
cultural change that results in the "production of high-quality aircraft
at a rate that is in line with historical standards and consistent with what
Boeing needs to produce to stay relevant".
Problems at Boeing are slowing supplies for DAE, one of the
world's top 10 lessors, with a 500-strong fleet of owned, managed or ordered
aircraft. DAE has previously said it expects to receive only around half the
number of aircraft from Boeing this year than the planemaker had committed to
deliver.
"In 30 years from now, I believe we will not be talking
about a duopoly, we will definitely be an industry where COMAC plays a much
more significant role," Tarapore said.
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