Korean Air Says No To COMAC

Korean Air has suggested that COMAC has a bright future, but is not interested in considering the emerging planemaker.

COMAC has burst onto the scene, attempting to take market share away from Airbus and Boeing in the single-aisle division, but has struggled to do so.

Given its freshness to the industry and a lack of appropriate certification, many airlines remain hesitant to take the plunge and purchase COMAC-produced aircraft.

While China has committed to jets produced by the planemaker in significant numbers, this is not representative of the broader industry and neighbouring locations, which remain hesitant.

That hesitancy is how Koran Air is approaching the situation with Walter Cho, its CEO and Chairman, speaking exclusively with CNBC about the next-generation planemaker and what it can offer.

While Korean Air believes COMAC has a bright future and is on the right path, the airline has reaffirmed its stance that they are not considering the purchase of planes produced by this planemaker.

Instead, Korean Air reaffirmed its stance that it believes Boeing is a well-run company from an engineering perspective and has full faith that things are improving; therefore, it’ll continue to rely on Boeing jets for many more decades.

Korean Air has a lengthy relationship with Boeing, having flown its aircraft for decades, and will also greatly rely on types from Airbus, which form an integral part of its fleet renewal and growth efforts.

Ultimately, Cho said that this backlog is healthy and it already has the planes on order it requires. If there were a desire to order more planes, it would look towards established planemakers before considering COMAC.

Could Korean Air Ever Order COMAC?

Although Korean Air is not currently willing to proceed with considering the product provided by COMAC at this stage, the South Korean carrier is aware that all companies must start somewhere.

Cho mentioned how Airbus and Boeing would have likewise built up their business and started small, with some outsiders looking in and remaining doubtful over the product being provided.

Korean Air stated that it may eventually consider the product produced by COMAC, provided specific requirements are met.

One of the biggest roadblocks to the proper adoption of COMAC-produced jets remains certification. At the same time, other factors, such as the ability of these planes to fly across specific markets, remain restricted.

As a result, even if Korean Air were to express interest in adopting the COMAC-produced portfolio of aircraft now, it wouldn’t make sense, considering that operating it would be next to impossible.

Industry analysts believe that COMAC may be able to achieve the necessary certification across markets, such as Europe, by early 2030. However, this leaves the door ajar for even better planes to be released by Airbus and Boeing to counter COMAC.

Despite Korean Air suggesting it would consider the planemaker, Cho’s comments indicate that the appetite remains very low, and a lot would have to change to alter his viewpoint.