Southeast Asia seen to ‘tick all the boxes’ as China seeks C919 buyers

Indonesia and Brunei are firmly on China’s radar as it seeks to expand the reach of its C919 and ARJ21 passenger jets

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A third ARJ-21 also arrived in Jakarta in May. Photo: WeChat/shlgguanweihui

Frank Chenin Shanghai

Published: 9:00am, 30 Jul 2024Updated: 10:29am, 30 Jul 2024

For China, its skies are not vast enough to accommodate the ambitions for its home-grown passenger jets.

It wants Chinese jets to spread their wings and go further, but for now, its desire remains aspirational at best, despite having made a small breakthrough in the Southeast Asian region that is seen to offer great potential.

The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) has been flooded with domestic orders for its home-grown narrowbody C919, and while these have shed light on its production capacity, the state-owned manufacturer is already plotting a course for the jet’s overseas expansion to nibble at the duopoly held by Airbus and Boeing.

The harsh reality is that a lack of a crucial certification from aviation regulators in Europe or the United States, as well as widespread geopolitical problems, may threaten to ground Comac’s high hopes for the C919, which is viewed as a potential challenger to the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 families of aircraft.

But it is Southeast Asia that offers hope, with Jakarta-based airline TransNusa already firmly on the radar, while Brunei and the Middle East are also being explored.

I wouldn’t be surprised if a firm order is placed within the next two years.

Shukor Yusof, Endau Analytics

“I expect TransNusa to stay loyal to Comac and it will eventually take the C919, as it needs larger jets to grow and compete effectively,” said Shukor Yusof, founder of Singapore-based aviation consultancy Endau Analytics.