flightglobal.com/asianaerospace
publicly available information from the
Civil Aviation Administration of China,
shows that at the end of 2008 China had
152 commercial airports, with 47 accounting
for 96% of the total passenger
traffic. There are 98 airports with fewer
than 10 flights a day.
Embraer’s analysis also reveals that
there were 470,000 flights last year with
fewer than 100 passengers on board aircraft
with more than 150 seats.
ACAC has attempted to promote regional
aircraft to Chinese airlines but,
like Bombardier and Embraer, faces an
uphill battle, with one of the hurdles
being that regional aircraft such as the
ARJ21 have a higher cost per available
seat kilometre than larger aircraft.
Airlines in China have done little to
differentiate their service and have resorted
to discounting air tickets. Passengers
generally book with whichever
airline is the cheapest, which means
carriers are focused on protecting their
yields by reducing operating costs as
measured by cost per ASK. On regional
routes it is difficult to charge a premium
to make up for the higher cost per ASK.
Because passengers are used to cheap
fares on trunk routes, they are unwilling
to pay more to fly on regional routes.
Pilot shortages also remain a problem
and inhibit the growth of regional aviation.
Traditionally pilots who operate
regional aircraft earn less than pilots
flying larger aircraft.
But because of the shortage, regional
aircraft pilots are demanding the same as
their counterparts who fly narrowbodies
such as Airbus A320s and Boeing 737s.
Some also prefer large aircraft because
they can operate on longer routes,
making it easier to generate the flight
hours used to calculate wages. Pilots of
regional aircraft, which generally fly
shorter routes, must perform more takeoffs
and landings to generate the same
amount of flight hours.
All these factors work against regional
aviation and have led to Chinese airlines
ordering larger aircraft from Airbus
and Boeing – China accounts for
15% of Airbus’s total sales.
But China is no longer content to just
keep ordering aircraft from the two in-
regional aircraft pilots
are demanding the same
pay as their counterparts
who fly narrowbodies
dustry giants.
This explains why Comac has taken the
ambitious step of starting to develop a 130-
to 200-seat jet aircraft, the Comac 919.
Comac aims to have the 919 enter service
in 2016 and the company is working on
the design and seeking suppliers for the
engines, landing gear and avionics.
ConCerned
Some industry observers are concerned
Comac may be stretching its resources
too thin by pursuing two commercial
aircraft programmes simultaneously.
Many involved in the ARJ21 programme
are also assigned to work on the
919. There are also concerns 2016 may
be too soon for the aircraft. China wants
the 919 to enter the market before Airbus
and Boeing have a chance to launch new
New programmes
are reviving ageing
factories in China
feature p12
narrowbodies. But another goal the government
has set the nation’s aerospace
firms is that they be more involved in
the development of aircraft systems,
which will take time. AVIC Engines, for
example, is bidding to supply the engines
to power the 919. The firm is open
to partnering Western engine makers,
but wants to develop new and technologically
advanced engines and own the
intellectual property rights.
The tight deadline for service entry
means some Western suppliers are predicting
Comac will end up choosing systems
in existence today that are proven
and tested. So far Comac has yet to secure
launch customers for the 919 and
Chinese carriers are more unwilling to
order Chinese aircraft simply to please
the government, becoming increasingly
adept at getting out of aircraft deals, as
evident by Shandong Airlines’ handling
of its ARJ21 order.
Concerns also persist over whether
Comac can properly support its products
in China and overseas to the level airlines
have become accustomed to. As Shanghai
Airlines’ chairman Zhou Chi said in 2003,
Chinese aircraft makers in the past have
“not had a perfect [after-sales] service system”
and Shanghai Airlines hopes Chinese
aircraft makers can raise their game.
He made the remarks soon after
Shanghai Airlines ordered five ARJ21s
and added that ACAC had “promised to
build a nice after-sales support system”.
ACAC is building a customer support
centre in Shanghai to support Shanghai
Airlines and other Chinese customers,
but it may take decades for aircraft makers
to develop a comprehensive international
support network. ■
The ARJ21’s final assembly line is in Shanghai
manufacturing
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