A miniature model of Boeing’s commercial aircraft is on display at the Singapore Airshow on February 20, 2024 in Singapore.
Roslan Rahman | AFP | Getty Images
Singapore – boeing company COMAC has touted its 737 Max aircraft as the “safest aircraft” and said China’s latest domestic jetliner, the Comac C919, is similar to Airbus and Boeing products already on the market.
Dave Schulte, Boeing’s general manager of commercial marketing for Asia Pacific, admitted that the 737 Max 9 currently facing mid-air blowout problems “is by far the most talked about aircraft in the world in the history of aviation.”
However, he insisted it was “the safest aircraft available today”.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the Singapore Air Show, Schulte said he flew on a 737 Max with his family last week, noting that the plane was “pretty full.”
Earlier this year, a Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft operated by Alaska Airlines suffered a fuselage panel burst during a flight, and initial inspections found loose bolts, raising safety concerns. Boeing aircraft orders and deliveries fell in January.
On Wednesday, Boeing announced it would replace the head of the 737 Max program.
Boeing is not bringing any commercial aircraft to the Singapore Air Show. Instead, it demonstrated its defensive capabilities, displaying a number of fighter jets, including the B-52 Stratofortress, which will participate in the U.S. Air Force air show.
The company also showed off the cabin of its wide-body 777X airliner, which it says is the world’s largest twin-engine jet, at the event. But aircraft deliveries expected to begin in 2025 have been plagued by delays.
Competition from China is not yet imminent
No Boeing commercial aircraft at Singapore Airshow, all eyes on passenger jets airbus and China’s domestic jetliner Commercial Aircraft C919.
Industry experts say the COMAC C919 may shake up Boeing and Airbus’ long-standing duopoly on the commercial aviation industry, but the aircraft is still in the early stages of entering competition.
“It’s too early to tell whether COMAC can break the duopoly,” Sobie Aviation’s Brendan Sobie told CNBC. “We’re unlikely to see the C919 overseas in the short term.” Order.”
COMAC signed an agreement with China’s Tibet Airlines on Tuesday and finalized an order for 40 C919 and 10 ARJ21 aircraft.
On the same day, the Chinese government-backed Henan Civil Aviation Development and Investment Group also signed an agreement to purchase six COMAC ARJ21 aircraft.
The ARJ21 jet is a short- to medium-range turbofan aircraft that can fly short distances and is used for regional flights.
Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) developed the narrow-body C919 to compete with the Boeing 737 and Airbus 320.
“This is a similar-sized aircraft produced by Boeing and Airbus,” Boeing’s Schulte said, adding that airlines in Southeast Asia might consider it. However, he warned that COMAC must also overcome supply disruptions similar to those faced by Boeing and Airbus.
“But certainly this is an aircraft that is included in our long-term forecast,” Schulte said of the C919.
As the aviation industry emerges from the impact of the epidemic, increased production from Boeing and Airbus has put pressure on suppliers struggling to meet growing demand for parts.
A miniature model of a Boeing Commercial Airplane is on display at the Singapore Airshow on February 20, 2024 in Singapore.
Roslan Rahman | AFP | Getty Images
Christian Scherer, CEO airbus company Aircraft Business said earlier this week that COMAC’s C919 “is not particularly problematic”.
He said the C919 “looks a bit like an Airbus narrow-body airliner,” while noting that the aircraft is “not that different” from existing aircraft from Airbus and Boeing.
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