Once certified, I think one of the challenges U.S. carriers with service using the Chinese aircraft will see is a shortage or price increase for parts regarding. There will have to be U.S. companies manufacturing the parts to specifications or more importations from the Chinese. Even though that may be an issue in the beginning, Comac hopes to sell 2,000 aircraft in the next 20 years (Jiang, 2015). As long as the aircraft manufacturing goes well and there aren't any large issues with it after manufacturing it should be a pretty simple feat, especially when they already have 517 orders before the first test flight.
In regards to the public perception of the new Chinese aircraft, I don't think it will be bad towards the new airplane. Airbus has been operating in the U.S. for years and hundreds of people choose to fly them every day. As long as there are not any large issues with the airplane I don't see any issues with it being accepted into the NAS.
Comac's C919 is part of a seven year mandated drive to restrict China's reliance on foreign imports. The company also has a smaller jet, the ARJ, that is far behind schedule, but there nonetheless (First China-made passenger, 2015). They also have a large body aircraft, the C929 in the works, but those aircraft seem like they aren't the priority.
I think many countries will love the competition that will in turn drive down aircraft costs and hopefully raise their profits. It will be an interesting thing to see as a new commercial airliner competitor comes to the market.
References
First China-made passenger jet leaves production line (2015, November 2). In Aljazeera. Retrieved from http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/11/china-passenger-jet-leaves-production-line-151102054428051.html
Jiang, S. (2015, November 2). China to take on Boeing, Airbus with homegrown C919 passenger jet. In CNN. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/02/asia/china-new-c919-passenger-jet/index.html
Jiang, S. (2015, November 2). China to take on Boeing, Airbus with homegrown C919 passenger jet. In CNN. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/02/asia/china-new-c919-passenger-jet/index.html
I agree that the aircraft will likely gain FAA certification at some point as a result of its competitive pricing. However, I do think purchasing the Chinese built aircraft will have a negative public perception. Although Airbus aircraft are common in the United States, we do not have the same trade or product perception towards Europe as we do China. Many view Chinese products as poor in quality, and have seen too many jobs being lost to production there. Air travelers may not like boarding an aircraft made by the same country that makes products with lead paint to save money.
ReplyDeleteThe more than half of the C919 systems are made of US parts which seems mind blowing now a days because everything is made in China. I agree the manufactured parts will increase because of supply and demand, but as China has been behind on the delivery of the AJR21 I foresee the same issue with the C919. If the Comac is trying to be independent of foreign imports, they are making a hard case for themselves because of the current delays in delivering there product.
ReplyDelete