Company Background and Notable Aircraft Models from COMAC
The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) has made significant strides in the global aviation industry, with its latest offering, the C919, now available for commercial flights. The state-owned aerospace company, which was established in 2008, aims to compete with global giants like Airbus and Boeing.
COMAC's development reflects China's ambitions to build an independent commercial aviation industry. The company's journey began with the ACAC consortium in 2002, where the ARJ21 Xiangfeng (now also known as the C909) was first developed. The C919, a single-aisle aircraft designed to compete with the Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX, has recently entered commercial service.
The ARJ21 Xiangfeng, a regional jet seating 78–90 passengers, began development in 2002. The first prototype rolled out in 2007, and it took flight in 2008. It received its Chinese civil aviation certification in 2014 and entered commercial service in 2016 with Chengdu Airlines. The program was rebranded as the C909 in November 2024. The aircraft features a 25° swept supercritical wing designed by Antonov and uses twin General Electric CF34 engines. As of mid-2025, COMAC had delivered around 172 airframes. The C909 is well-suited for short runways and high-temperature environments, making it popular in Southeast Asia, with customers including Lao Airlines and VietJet.
The C919, COMAC’s flagship single-aisle narrow-body airliner, completed its first pre-delivery test flights in 2022 and received its Chinese airworthiness certification in September 2022. The first production aircraft was delivered to China Eastern Airlines in December 2022. Priced at about 653 million yuan (~$101 million), it is competitively priced against Western rivals but roughly double the initially expected price. The aircraft is powered by CFM International LEAP-1C engines, a joint venture between GE Aerospace and Safran. COMAC aims to reduce reliance on foreign engines with a domestic CJ-1000A engine under development, which may become a future powerplant option for the C919.
In May 2025, the US had halted exports of GE engines to COMAC, affecting supply of LEAP-1C and CF34 engines crucial for the C919 and C909. However, as of early July 2025, the US government reversed this decision and authorized GE Aerospace to resume exports of these engines to COMAC, indicating a thaw in trade tensions and a critical boost for COMAC’s supply chain and production continuity.
COMAC continues to promote the C909 broadly in Southeast Asia, leveraging its suitability for less-developed airport infrastructure, and is gradually expanding its presence in the global market. Alongside these aircraft, COMAC is also involved in the development of the CRAIC CR929 with Russian partners, United Aircraft Corporation (UAC). The CRAIC CR929 is planned to be a wide-body aircraft with 250 to 290 seats capacity.
In summary, COMAC has made significant progress establishing itself in commercial aviation with the ARJ21/C909 already in service and the C919 recently launched commercially. The easing of US export restrictions on engines is expected to further support its growth and competitive positioning in the coming years.
In the quest to establish an independent commercial aviation industry, COMAC is also developing the CRAIC CR929, a wide-body aircraft intended for the global market, alongside Russian partners. This project adds to COMAC's existing portfolio, which includes the C919 and the ARJ21 Xiangfeng, both of which have found success in the finance sector, as they are competitively priced against global rivals in the aerospace and technology industries.
