Aeroplane makers including Boeing and Airbus, the world’s two largest manufacturers, have faced increasing challenges in recent years, after reports of technical and safety concerns.
Most recently, the engine of an Airbus A350
caught fire during a Cathay Pacific Airways flight while a
rear door plug on a Boeing 737-9 Max blew out during an Alaska Airlines flight. Both companies are also involved in a US regulatory investigation into
false paperwork related to the authentication of aerospace-grade titanium parts.
Supply chain constraints are an additional challenge as Boeing and Airbus struggle to clear their backlog. Boeing delivered just 291 commercial planes in the first nine months of the year, down from 371 for the same period last year. Airbus did better, delivering 497 commercial aircraft, up from 488 for the previous corresponding period. But both manufacturers continue to wrestle with a massive backlog of more than 14,100 commercial aircraft.
Into the breach has stepped Comac, the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China. The state-owned company’s C919 jet, launched commercially last year, is
designed to compete with Boeing’s 737 and Airbus’ A320 planes. This is widely seen as a bid to reduce Chinese dependence on the Western aviation giants and assert China’s influence in the global aviation market.
While Boeing and Airbus face pressure to upgrade their passenger aircraft to make them more sustainable after the global industry
formally committed to net zero emissions by 2050, Comac has designed its C919 with environmental sustainability as a
main objective – the jet made its first commercial flight on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in September.
SAF can be made from algae or waste from agricultural, forestry, food and municipal sources. It can cut life-cycle carbon emissions by up to 80 per cent compared with petroleum-based jet fuel.
