Since Boeing acquired McDonnell-Douglas in 1997,
it and European manufacturer Airbus have made up an industry-dominating manufacturing duopoly.
Smaller manufacturers have found this to be a difficult force to reckon with,
particularly in terms of long-range, widebody aircraft. However, a Chinese-Russian joint
venture known as CRAIC is aiming to challenge this in the next decade with its CR929 airliner.
CRAIC is an acronym for ‘China-Russia Commercial Aircraft International Corporation,’ and the
joint venture consists of two manufacturers. One one side is COMAC (Commercial Aircraft
Corporation of China), which represents the Chinese half of the project. It has
become an established manufacturer through its ARJ21 regional jet. This aircraft type
enjoyed record deliveries in 2020. COMAC is also currently developing a
short to medium-haul single-aisle jetliner known as the C919. With this design, it is hoping to
make a dent in a market presently dominated by the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 families.
Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) makes up the other half of this exciting joint venture.
It was formed in 2006 and comprises several notable Russian aviation outfits,
including Ilyushin, Sukhoi, and Tupolev. Irkut, which falls under the UAC umbrella,
is currently known for developing the MC-21. Like the COMAC C919, this aircraft is also looking to
disrupt the short to medium-haul market. Russian flag carrier Aeroflot is set to commence services
with the MC-21 later this year, nine years after its initial planned launch in 2012.The
CRAIC CR929 project will see these two Chinese and Russian groups work together on a long-haul,
widebody jetliner. COMAC had been considering the possibility of producing such an aircraft
as early as 2011. Its ideas for the long-haul market included the C929
(with 290 seats) and the C939, with 390 seats. However, at the time, Russia was also considering
how it might produce a successor for its four-engine Ilyushin Il-96. Having ascertained
that demand for such an aircraft was sufficient, the two countries formed a joint venture in 2012.
The goal of this partnership was a mass-produced twin-aisle airliner to be developed in around
seven years. The project’s cost was estimated at the time to be between 7 and $12 billion. By 2015,
the parties involved had agreed to target a first flight in 2021, and first deliveries by 2024.
Two years later, the joint venture officially became known as CRAIC.
At this point, the manufacturers updated the schedule to target the 2025-2028 period
for the CR929’s first flight and deliveries.
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They hoped that the aircraft would prove cheaper to operate than similar Airbus
and Boeing aircraft, by a factor of around 10-15%. CRAIC also aimed to take around a
tenth of the Airbus and Boeing-dominated widebody market with the CR929.CRAIC
plans to produce three different variants of the CR929. The standard version will be
the -600 variant. COMAC reports that this will be capable of a range of 12,000 km (6,480 NM)
with a capacity of up to 280 passengers across three classes.
A two-class configuration will see the -600’s capacity rise a little further, to 291 passengers.
Meanwhile, a high-density, one-class layout on the jet could accommodate over 400 passengers.
The smaller CR929 variant, which COMAC calls the “junior version,”
will carry the designation of CR929-500. And the third variant? This “senior version”
will be a longer, stretched-fuselage version, which, logically, will be known as the CR929-700.
Looking at the CR929 and its specifications, one competitor comes to mind. Boeing’s 787
‘Dreamliner’ family also consists of three versions, which also increase in
size correspondingly with their designation. The 787-9 is very similar to the CR929-600
in terms of size and capacity. However, the 787-9 can fly for up to 14,140 km (7,635 NM),
giving it a significant range advantage over its Chinese-Russian rival. This might cause one to
question the extent to which it will provide serious competition for the Dreamliner.In
terms of European competition, the CR929 is most similar in terms of size and capacity to the
-900 variant of the Airbus A330neo. However, this too has a more favorable range than the
proposed CRAIC aircraft. Indeed, with a typical three-class capacity of 260-300 passengers,
the A330-900 can fly for up to 13,334 km (7,200 NM) non-stop. With this in mind,
it is perhaps difficult to imagine what might persuade airlines to opt for the CR929.
As Simple Flying reported earlier this year, production of the CR929 is set to commence
later this year. This is despite the project having encountered some difficulties last October
when there were disagreements over suppliers. At this point, it looks like CRAIC has pushed
the first delivery back another year, to 2029. Nonetheless, with production beginning within
the next 12 months, CRAIC can finally look forward to a physical manifestation of its CR929.
Whether it will challenge the 787 and A330neo remains to be seen.
What do you make of the proposed CRAIC CR929? Do you think it will pose a serious challenge for
the current Airbus-Boeing widebody duopoly? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.