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Airbus and Boeing have a near-duopoly in the domain of jet-powered commercial aircraft.
However, China is looking to become a more significant player in this market,
with multiple jetliners set to launch in the next decade.
Let’s take a look at some of China’s past, present, and future aircraft
and how they compare to similar designs from industry juggernauts Airbus and Boeing.
One historical example that bears strong parallels to a Boeing aircraft is the Shanghai Y-10. The
Shanghai Aircraft Research Institute developed this four-engine narrowbody jetliner in the 1970s.
Of course, by this time, Boeing had already launched a single-aisle quadjet:
the 707. In fact, the parallels are no accident, with the Shanghai Aircraft
Research Institute reportedly having used the 707-320C as a reference point for the Y-10.
In terms of its specifications, the Y-10 was closer to the smaller 707-120.
The jet was 1.3 meters shorter than the 707-120 (42.93 m vs 44.22 m). Correspondingly,
it carried slightly fewer passengers (149 vs 174 in one class, and 124 vs 137 in two classes).
However, the Y-10 did match the 707-120 in terms of range. Both designs could fly for
around 5600 km (3,000 NM) with a maximum payload- although the 707-120 could carry
more weight while doing so - a 123,500 kg maximum takeoff weight vs 102 to 110,000 kg for the Y-10).
Ultimately, just three Y-10s were produced, with the Civil Aviation Administration of China
(CAAC) refusing to take the aircraft on. As a result of this failure,
the Shanghai Aircraft Research Institute turned its focus to the McDonnell Douglas MD-82
instead. It was granted permission to assemble the aircraft under license in November 1986.
In terms of Chinese jetliners commercially active today, there is just one example: the COMAC ARJ21.
While COMAC (the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China) first revealed
the ARJ Advanced Regional Jet in December 2007, it did not enter service until June 2016. Today,
about 55 have been produced, flying regional services throughout China with various airlines.
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Being a small regional jet, the aircraft from the Airbus-Boeing duopoly that the ARJ21 is closest to
would have to be the Airbus A220-100. The stretched-fuselage ARJ21-900 is 36.35 meters long
and carries between 98 and 105 passengers. This gives it a slight degree of overlap with
the 35-meter long A220-100, which has a capacity of 100-120 seats. However, in truth, these two
aircraft were built to serve rather different functions. While their size and capacity may
be similar, the regional-focused ARJ21-900ER has a range of up to 3,300 km (1,800 NM). Meanwhile, the
A220-100 can fly nearly twice as far, clocking in with an impressive range of 6,390 km / 3,450 NM).
In addition to its existing ARJ21 series, COMAC also has two new designs in the pipeline,
which are set to enter service in the next decade. Indeed,
its narrowbody C919 is expected to be certified by the end of the year.
While this 158-seater can’t match the range of the Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX 8, Airbus’s CEO
has publicly stated that he believes the jet will be able to compete with his company’s aircraft.
And finally, COMAC is also teaming up with Russia‘s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC)
to challenge Airbus and Boeing in the long-haul domain.
The two manufacturers hope to have their CRAIC CR929 in service by 2029.
It will be interesting to see how the project pans out,
and whether it will ultimately succeed in penetrating the duopoly when service commences.
Do you think any of these Chinese aircraft will steal sales away from
Airbus or Boeing? Let us know what you think by leaving a comment.