Homegrown jet's commercial debut brings new opportunities for China's aviation industry

BEIJING -- As China's first indigenously developed large jetliner has entered commercial service, the country's aviation industry and its supporting sectors will see tremendous market opportunities in the coming decades, analysts and industry experts have said.

The C919, a single-aisle aircraft designed by Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd, completed its first commercial flight from Shanghai to Beijing on Sunday, marking its official entry into the civil aviation market.

"The successful commercial debut of the C919 means that China's homegrown jet has gained access to the mainstream 150-to-200-seat, single-aisle trunk aircraft market, one of the most competitive markets in civil aviation," aviation expert Han Tao told Securities Daily.

Launched in 2007, the C919 project saw its first aircraft roll off the production line in 2015. In 2017, the model had its successful maiden flight.

The C919 plane was put into regular service by China Eastern Airlines on Monday, flying between Shanghai and Chengdu, Sichuan Province. The airline said that with new planes arriving, the model will gradually operate on more routes.

There have so far been 1,061 orders for C919 planes from various customers, according to COMAC.

The C919 model has advantages in both performance and price, said Cinda Securities, which expects the plane's commercial operations to boost its market influence.

According to a market forecast released by COMAC in late 2022, China is expected to be the world's largest single-country civil aviation market by 2041.

Over the 2022-2041 period, China's civil aviation market will receive 9,284 new planes, accounting for 21.9 percent of all global deliveries, per the COMAC forecast. This would include 6,288 single-aisle jetliners, which are worth $749 billion in terms of market value.

The production of large aircraft means huge opportunities for local suppliers, according to CITIC Securities, as it expects more components that are currently produced around the world to be manufactured domestically in the future.

Market analysts also believe that the domestic production of large aircraft, which are often regarded as crown jewels of manufacturing, will help boost many industries both upstream and downstream.

"The successful commercial maiden flight of the C919 is much more than a breakthrough in domestic jet manufacturing," according to Essence Securities analyst Zhao Yang, adding that its supporting industrial chain will bring benefits in the long run.

"Supporting sectors such as aircraft materials, maintenance, personnel training and software development would be among the beneficiaries," Han said.