C919

The fact that the new Comac C919 has yet to gain FAA certification could lead us to believe that it will NEVER receive it.  The whole "Made in China" bit can in many cases make us think twice about their products, as many, if not all of us, have seen lower quality standards at work in regard to toys, clothing, automobiles, etc.  However, with that said, if they prove themselves as a quality option for air travel, there is always the chance that the FAA will come calling.  In my opinion, based on my personal experiences with Chinese made products, I am skeptical, at best.

In the event that the C919 does receive FAA certification, it will remain to be seen how the U.S. carriers will be affected.  An example of this is seen in their orders for aircraft.  "Huaxia Financial Leasing signed a letter of intent for 20 C919s. Though not an order, the deal is included in Comac’s tally of 450 orders, which actually means orders and options. Use of such loose definitions mean that Comac’s order book is not at all comparable with the contract records of Western manufacturers." (Perrett, 2015)  Of those 450 orders, all but 20 of them are domestic orders.  It lends to the question of whether or not the C919 is capable of success on an international level.  "At face value, Comac’s goal of breaking the Boeing/Airbus narrowbody duopoly is a noble, if not extremely challenging, task." (Leighton, 2015)  It appears that Comac's interests lie more on the national level, rather than international.  China has the fourth largest country in terms of land-mass.  The middle class in China is rapidly expanding, and the second most-populated country.

While there is an Airbus factory in the country (Tianjin), it serves to cover the short-term demand.  China has aspirations of being an economic powerhouse, but also from a technology aspect as well.  "To get there, your nation needs to prove that it can produce state-of-the-art anything, especially aircraft. The C919, in a broad-strokes way, is a matter of national pride." (Leighton, 2015) The fact that 430 out of 450 orders for aircraft are coming domestically, this tells us that the relationship is very good between the airlines and government.

Sure, other companies will look at Comac (if they have success) as a potential threat to Airbus or Boeing, but I think these companies will wait and see how the C919 shapes up.  There will be growing pains for at least a few years once they are up and flying, and I think that based on that, these companies will want to see what those pains are, and learn from them, in hopes of potentially avoiding some, or all of them if they decide to make the leap.

I could not find anything specific about any changes in response to the C919.  I found that it says Boeing and Airbus have projects in place to update/upgrade their fleet in order to stay ahead of the curve.  One thing they have going for them is that they have aircraft in the market that the C919 is trying to break into, and they will have less hiccups to deal with.  Also, if Comac has to push their anticipated dates of completion, it just pushes them further back in attempts to gain a foothold in the industry.

References 

Leighton, Bernie. (March 18, 2015) A Closer Look at the Comac C919 - Why Does it Exist? - AirlineReporter (AirlineReporter) Retrieved from http://www.airlinereporter.com/2015/03/closer-look-comac-c919-exist/

Perrett, Bradley. (June 15, 2015). Comac C919 Nears Roll Out (Comac C919 Nears Roll Out) Retreived from http://aviationweek.com/paris-air-show-2015/comac-c919-nears-roll-out