Airbus CEO Dismisses China's Comac C919 Threat: 'Not Going To Rock The Boat'

Christian Scherer, the CEO of Airbus SE‘s EADSY commercial aircraft business, has expressed his confidence in the face of emerging competition from China’s Comac C919. Scherer believes that the new entrant will not significantly impact the market.

What Happened: Scherer made these comments during a media roundtable at the Singapore Airshow. He stated that the C919, developed by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac), is “not going to rock the boat in particular,” reported CNBC.

He even remarked that the C919 looks “a bit like an Airbus narrow body” and is “not very different” from what Airbus and Boeing already have in the market. Scherer acknowledged the C919 as a “legitimate effort” by China and welcomed the competition, stating that “the market is large enough for competition.”

"We don't want to stick our head in the sand…it's a normal thing to see more competition," said Scherer.  

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The C919, certified by the Civil Aviation Administration of China in September 2022, entered commercial service with China Eastern Airlines in May last year. It uses the same engine as Airbus’s narrow-body passenger jetliner, the Airbus A320neo, powered by the CFM International LEAP engines.

Comac announced at the air show that it had signed a deal with China’s Tibet Airlines and finalized an order for 40 C919 and 10 ARJ21 jets from the Chinese aircraft maker.

Northcoast Research analyst Chris Olin believes that problems at Boeing, specifically the 737 Max, present an early opportunity for Comac, according to the report.

Why It Matters: The C919’s emergence as a competitor to Boeing’s 737 and Airbus 320 has been a topic of interest. The aircraft was certified by the Civil Aviation Administration of China in September 2022 and is now set to make its global debut at the Singapore Airshow, posing a potential threat to the Boeing-Airbus duopoly.

Industry experts have suggested that the C919 could be an early competitor to the commercial aviation duopoly between Boeing and Airbus, especially considering the anticipated aftermarket supercycle in the aviation industry. This development could be further fueled by China’s ambitions to become a world-class maker of large commercial jets.

Meanwhile, in January, China lifted a two-year import suspension on Boeing’s 737 MAX 8 aircraft, signaling a potential shift in the dynamics of the aviation industry.

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