Comac aims to sell 28 C919 jets by 2026, a rise from 15 last year, but still far from its goal of 75, facing hurdles in certification and competition.
China's state-run planemaker Comac is targeting sales of 28 C919 passenger jets in 2026, up from 15 last year, though this figure falls significantly short of its earlier ambition of 75, as reported by Hong Kong's China Economic Review.
Since the rollout in 2022, Comac has sold only 25 of the C919, a modest figure compared to the more than 4,000 aircraft currently operating in China. The C919, which has been in development since 2008 and was first prototyped in 2011, is positioned as China's answer to the Airbus A320, albeit with less advanced technology.
Comac recently announced test flights aimed at gaining certification for the EU market, although the aircraft is currently only approved to fly within China.
Despite this push, Comac's sales pale in comparison to those of Boeing and Airbus, which each sold more than 1,000 planes last year. Analysts note that while China excels in high-tech manufacturing and is catching up in fields such as robotics and AI, producing commercial airliners presents unique challenges due to stringent passenger safety requirements.
With European safety tests still in progress and the project advancing slowly, the prospect of Chinese-made jets flying in Western skies remains distant. However, Beijing's political influence and its drive for self-sufficiency in essential technologies continue to underpin Comac's ambitions.