China's C919 jet reaches final assembly stage

The final assembly work of China's first domestically designed large airliner, the C919, started in Shanghai over the weekend, ushering in a new phase of China's ambitions in the commercial aircraft manufacturing industry.

The C919 is the first large passenger jet built by Chinese State-owned aircraft maker Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, also known as COMAC. The medium- and short-range jetliner is designed to be 38.9 meters long and 35.8 meters wide and comes in two models - an all-economy class model with 168 seats and a 158-seat mixed configuration model with both first class and economy class.

As commercial aircraft demand from China's domestic market has leaned toward low-cost airliners, the Chinese aircraft is very suitable, said staff from COMAC.

"Being economical is the top advantage of the C919, as it can save as much as 12-15 percent on fuel usage compared with similar models. In addition, the C919 also has good safety [features] and is also environmental friendly," a project manager at COMAC surnamed Zhang, told the Global Times Sunday.

The first C919 plane is scheduled to have cockpit system installation and safety checks in 2015, and its maiden flight may occur as early as the end of 2015.

The C919 has received about 400 orders so far from more than a dozen domestic and overseas airlines, according to COMAC's website. The growth of the Chinese aircraft maker may affect the market shares of dominant market players - Boeing and Airbus - in the future, but only in a limited way, said industrial experts.

"As the C919 is basically in the same category as the Boeing 737, Airbus 320 and Airbus 319, it may deal a blow to the market share of the world's two largest aircraft makers. But since the C919 is still under construction and there are already about 1,000 similar aircraft in the domestic market, it may be hard to get noticed," Li Xiaojin, professor at Economics and Management College of Civil Aviation University of China, told the Global Times Sunday.

The introduction of Chinese-designed passenger jets will result in the market having more aircraft makers, but more importantly, it will offer a bargaining chip for Chinese makers when they negotiate deals with overseas rivals, said Li.

However, the aim of becoming as dominant as Boeing and Airbus seems quite faint, Li noted.

Though many aircraft parts suppliers participated in the making of the C919, Li said that the plane's core parts, especially those that are highly profitable, remain a hard challenge to Chinese makers, so COMAC's success may boost aviation-related industries in China, such as aircraft engine manufacturing.