image: CCTV+
The first Chinese airplane designed for the large-airliner segment rolled out of the factory on Monday morning. The C919 jet, built by the state-run Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), can seat up to 168 passengers. COMAC said it has orders for 517 aircraft from 21 customers, most of them based in China. The jet competes with other single-aisle jets such as the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737, but according to Reuters, the C919 may face obstacles in the world market, because despite five years of effort, the FAA hasn’t agreed to certify it.
Without FAA certification, the aircraft can operate only in China and some Asian, African and South American countries that recognize the certificate approved by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, Reuters said. The FAA has been working with the CAAC since 2010, conducting a “shadow certification process,” Reuters said. But the two regulators reached an impasse last year over various technical and bureaucratic issues. “While the CAAC wanted to learn from the FAA, they felt the Americans were too rigid and unnecessarily delaying things. And the longer the delay, the greater the embarrassment to the Chinese,” an unnamed source told Reuters. However, Reuters said other sources told them the two regulators are still working together to resolve outstanding issues as a “top priority.” First flight for the C919 is expected next year, with first deliveries in 2019.
