Digging deeper in China

China’s drive to become a major commercial aerospace manufacturer is quickening. Europe’s Airbus and North America’s Boeing have joint aviation ventures on the Mainland and Russia is building a wide body jet in partnership with China.

November 1st 2017

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China and Russia have agreed on their individual roles in the production of their joint venture CR929 wide-body commercial jet. Read More » The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) will design and manufacture the fuselage. Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) will devise and produce the wings. The joint venture company is known as the China-Russia Commercial Aircraft International Co. Ltd.

The latest development plans for the CR929 - the C and R stand for China and Russia, respectively, 9 is the largest single number and means long-lasting in Chinese and 2 references the joint partnership – were revealed at the recent Aviation Expo China.

A member of the CR929 design team, Chen Yingchun, announced at the exhibition and conference that the new jet would have a range of up to 12,000 kilometers and was expected to be flying at customer airlines by 2027.

The latest CR929 developments were made public within a few days of Airbus’ inauguration of its Tianjin A330 Completion and Delivery Centre (C&DC), a facility built adjacent to its successful nine-year-old A320 Final Assembly Line.

In the same week, Boeing and COMAC revealed more details about the U.S. plane maker’s first overseas completion and delivery center being built in Zhonshan in eastern Zheijiang. The joint venture is funded with registered capital of US$55 million. Boeing has invested $33 million for a 60% equity in the project and COMAC will pay $22 million for the remaining 40%.

And there may be more Sino-foreign joint ventures on the way. Embraer chief executive, Paulo Cesar de Souza e Silva, said in Singapore last month that the company will consider establishing a commercial-aircraft factory in China down the line.

Earlier this century, the Brazilian company built its E-145 regional jets in Harbin, in a joint venture with the Harbin Aviation Group and the Harbin Hafei Aviation Industry Co. Embraer then switched to manufacturing its Legacy 650 business aircraft in Harbin until the plant closed in 2016.

Silva said Embraer would wait for the rollout of its first E195-E2 aircraft in 2019 before it deliberates on plans for China. “We may consider it if we have the right partner and enough interest in our jets. In the next 20 years, we see potential in China for a little bit more than 1,000 aircraft of the size that Embraer manufacturers. We have 80% of that market.”

China and Russia announced their plans for their joint venture in May, but gave no details of the project at the time. Now they have disclosed the main design center will be in Russia but that Shanghai will have its own design office. Each partner will take half of the work and send design staff for exchange visits on a non-scheduled basis between the two project centres. Some 51% of the aircraft will be made of composite materials.

The CR929 could have four configurations: 280 seats in three classes; 291 seats in two classes; 310 seats in a tight three class plane or a 416 seat all economy layout, said Chen. The new aircraft will target airlines in China and Russia as well as other Asia-Pacific markets.

“It’s competing models will include Airbus’A330 and A350 and Boeing’s B787. Currently, we are selecting suppliers worldwide,” he said. “By the end of the year, we are likely to open tenders for the aero engine. Rolls-Royce and General Electric are expected to bid. We are also trying to develop engines ourselves together with Russia.”

Chairmanship of the joint venture will alternate between China and Russia every three years. Each country will hold four seats of the eight board director seats.

Ironically, the venture may open up more business for Airbus in China. The Toulouse manufacturer holds 30% of the Haifei Harbin Manufacturing Centre (HMC), a joint venture with Chinese partners in Harbin, Northeast China.

The company manufactures composite elevators, rudders, maintenance doors and belly fairing parts for the A350 XWB and is the sole supplier to Airbus for these components. It also assembles elevators and rudders for the single-aisle A320 family.

In June, the facility delivered its 1000th A320 rudder. The head of HMC, Olivier Guillon told Orient Aviation in Beijing in September that there is potential to produce composite parts for companies other than Airbus, including the CR929.

“Until now, we did not have a clear direction on this topic, but from the top management of Airbus they are now ready to consider any opportunity,” he said.

Construction of the Boeing/COMAC completion centre and a separate delivery centre owned by Boeing will carry out cabin installation, painting, flight testing and aircraft maintenance.

COMAC, manufacturer of China’s first narrow-body jet, the C919, said the project will broaden international cooperation between China and international manufacturers and optimize the environment for the growth of the civil aircraft industry in China.

“Zhoushan and Seattle are located at each side of the Pacific Ocean. In the past, most people living in Seattle didn’t know about Zhoushan, but now they come to work here. Our completion center has linked us together,” said COMAC president, He Dongfeng.

Boeing is scheduled to begin delivering its B737 MAX planes directly from Zhoushan to Chinese domestic airlines by the end of next year. The centre will have a maximum delivery capacity of 100 planes a year.

In its most recent 20-year forecast, Boeing said China would require 7,240 planes, valued at almost $1.1 trillion, in the next two decades. Seventy-five percent of the future fleet would be narrow bodies as full-service and low-cost carriers expand their regional networks.