COMAC C919 Deep Dive: Will China Dominate Global Aviation?

Video from the channel Fabrizzio Ferreira | Piloto about COMAC, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 10:57. Language: Portuguese. Video type: Documentary.

Analysis piece in Portuguese, by a pilot with a degree in aeronautical sciences, about the strategy of COMAC, China's state-owned manufacturer, to enter a commercial jet market dominated by Airbus and Boeing, with Embraer as a third player. It centres on the C919 and argues that its edge is not technology but availability: with Airbus's long waiting lists and Boeing's troubles, it only needs to deliver sooner.

It explains that the C919 deliberately resembles the A320 (sidestick, fly-by-wire controls, glass cockpit) to lower the cost of retraining crews, and that it depends on Western suppliers: CFM engines, Honeywell and Collins avionics, and German landing gear. That dependence became evident in mid-2025, when the United States halted the export of CFM engines to China and production nearly stopped. As an alternative, China is developing the domestic CJ-1000A engine, whose certification will take years.

Its smaller sibling, the C909 (formerly the ARJ21), flies with Indonesia's TransNusa, also on routes to China, and the C919 has orders from Brunei's GallopAir. According to the author, the 2025 target was 75 deliveries, and actual deliveries fell short of 20. He also mentions test flights by EASA pilots in January 2026. He considers the support and spare-parts network to be the biggest challenge, and notes the aircraft is heavier and has less range than the A320.