COMAC Eyes Huge Order

COMAC could be nearing a major deal that would mark a breakthrough in its efforts to grow across the industry.

As part of reporting shared by Yicaiglobal through an interview, Malaysia Airlines is in the process of studying the future of its commercial aircraft division.

With that in mind, part of the consideration for the future fleet is COMAC, a massive positive for the Chinese planemaker, which has made its ambition clear to rival Airbus and Boeing for market share moving forward.

The managing director of Malaysia Aviation Group, Izham Ismai, said that COMAC is being taken very seriously as part of a fleet evaluation which focuses on the next five-year period from 2035 through to 2040.

Malaysia Airlines says that it has been in discussions with COMAC now for over a year, and those discussions reportedly deepened further in the second quarter, with much of the focus on the C919.

The view is that, while no decision has been made, the C919 offers something of great interest: the focus won’t be solely on the operating metrics, but also on how it will work in terms of safety, airworthiness, and, importantly, support once delivered.

For COMAC, they’ll now need to work with Malaysia Airlines to demonstrate their portfolio of commercial aircraft as worthy of acquisition. The Kuala Lumpur-based Group is keen to make a decision in and around 2026.

Before any decision can be made, Malaysia Airlines would also need to understand how production is conducted, as airlines often visit aircraft manufacturers’ factories to get a better picture of day-to-day operations.

Additionally, something worth considering for the airline is the delays across primary manufacturers such as Airbus and Boeing, and what COMAC may offer with a better delivery window.

For the Chinese planemaker, there’s a sense that an opportunity presents itself to pounce on competitors’ misfortunes and their many supply chain constraints.

The Recent Struggles Of COMAC

Despite the prospect of new purchases, which is a step in the right direction for COMAC, there remains a visible uphill battle to get these planes featured in more markets around the world rather than just China.

For the C919, which Malaysia Airlines has an interest in, it’s the jet the planemaker is currently pitching to airlines as a genuine competitor to the A320neo and 737 MAX families.

Despite this pitch, widespread adoption of the C919 has been central to China, with orders outside of this market representing next to nothing of the backlog moving forward.

While COMAC has been determined to change this reality, it has had limited control over it, primarily because regulators are locking horns over the certification approval process, driven by concerns.

Moreover, not all airlines are fully confident in the product put forward; for example, this year, COMAC was rejected by Korean Air, which believed there were still too many unresolved hurdles.

Korean Air argues that the product COMAC is putting forward cannot yet be a safe bet, and that it is not worth breaking long-standing relationships with the likes of Airbus and Boeing for.

All this was then followed by Ryanair being advised by U.S. lawmakers that it should not consider proposals from the Chinese planemaker to purchase its planes after Reuters highlighted an internal letter discussing the prospect.

For COMAC, therefore, to make a genuine splash in more markets around the world, a lot needs to go right moving forward.