Comac

31°05′51″N 121°51′09″E / 31.09750°N 121.85250°E / 31.09750; 121.85250

Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd.
Native name
Chinese: 中国商用飞机有限责任公司
Company typeState-owned
IndustryAviation
Founded11 May 2008; 16 years ago (2008-05-11)
Headquarters
Shanghai
,
China
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
He Dongfeng (Chairman)[1]
Zhao Yuerang (President)[2]
Products
OwnerSASAC
Websitewww.comac.cc Edit this at Wikidata
Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd.
Simplified Chinese中国商用飞机有限责任公司
Traditional Chinese中國商用飛機有限責任公司
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinZhōngguó Shāngyòng Fēijī Yǒuxiàn Zérèn Gōngsī
Abbreviation
Simplified Chinese中国商飞
Traditional Chinese中國商飛
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinZhōngguó Shāngfēi

The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. (Comac, sometimes stylized as COMAC, Chinese: 中国商用飞机有限责任公司) is a Chinese state-owned aerospace manufacturer established on 11 May 2008 in Shanghai.[3] The headquarters are in Pudong, Shanghai.[4] The company has a registered capital of RMB 19 billion (US$2.7 billion as of May 2008). The corporation is a designer and constructor of large passenger aircraft with capacities of over 150 passengers.

The first aircraft marketed by Comac is the ARJ21 regional jet, which was developed by China Aviation Industry Corporation I (AVIC I). This was followed by the C919 narrow-body aircraft, which can seat up to 168 passengers and made its maiden flight in 2017,[5] entering into commercial service in March 2023.[6]

History

Origins

The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) was established on 11 May 2008 in Shanghai. It was established jointly by Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), Aluminum Corporation of China, Baosteel Group Corporation, Sinochem Group, Shanghai Guosheng Corporation Limited, and State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.[citation needed]

U.S. sanctions

Further information: United States sanctions against China

In January 2021, the United States government named Comac as a company "owned or controlled" by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) and thereby prohibited any American company or individual from investing in it.[7] In January 2025, Comac was added to a United States Department of Defense list of companies that allegedly work with the PLA.[8]

Products

A Comac C919 in flight

For all models beginning with the 919, Comac's naming system for commercial airliners has taken the form of 9X9.[citation needed] In November 2024, Comac rebranded the ARJ21 as the C909 to match the format of the other models.[9]

Aircraft Description Capacity First flight Ref.
C909 Twin‑engine, single aisle, short-range 70−105 28 November 2008
C919 Twin‑engine, single aisle, short- to medium-range 150−190 5 May 2017 [10]
C929 Twin‑engine, twin aisle, long-range 250−290 2030 (deferred) [11]
C939 Twin‑engine, twin aisle, long- to ultra long-range 400 [12][13]

Orders and deliveries

Comac Beijing Aircraft Technology Research Institute

As of December 2024.

Aircraft Orders Options Deliveries Backlog
C909 312 35 156 156
C919[14] 1,003 120 16 987
C929
C939
Total 1,315 155 172 1,143

Collaborations

Bombardier

On 24 March 2011, Comac and the Canadian company Bombardier Inc. signed a framework agreement for a long-term strategic cooperation on commercial aircraft.[15][16]

In May 2017, Bombardier and Comac began holding talks about an investment into Bombardier's passenger jet business.[17]

Boeing

On 23 September 2015, Boeing announced plans to build a Boeing 737 completion and finishing plant in China.[18] The facility will be used to paint exteriors and install interiors into airframes built in the United States.[19] The joint-venture plant will be located in Zhoushan, Zhejiang.[20]

Ryanair

In June 2011 Comac and Irish low-cost airline Ryanair signed an agreement to cooperate on the development of the C919, a 200-seat narrow-body commercial jet which will compete with the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320.[21]

UAC

Main article: Comac C929

China-Russia Commercial Aircraft International Co. Ltd. (CRAIC), a joint venture company invested by Comac and Russia's United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) responsible for the development of a wide-body commercial jet, was established in Shanghai on 22 May 2017. Research and development for the new plane was to be conducted in Moscow, with aircraft to be assembled in Shanghai.[22] Subsequently the partnership was dropped, and by November 2023 Comac announced that it would develop the aircraft model (since rebranded C929) on its own. [23]

See also

References

  1. ^ Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China. "He Dongfeng – Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China". Archived from the original on 25 June 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  2. ^ Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China. "Zhao Yuerang – Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China". Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  3. ^ An Lu (11 May 2008). "China's jumbo passenger aircraft company established in Shanghai". Xinhua. Archived from the original on 25 April 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  4. ^ 联系我们 (in Chinese (China)). COMAC. 5 January 2010. Archived from the original on 5 August 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2020. 上海市张杨路25号
  5. ^ "With maiden jet flight, China enters dog-fight with Boeing, Airbus". Reuters. 5 May 2017. Archived from the original on 5 May 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  6. ^ "China Positioning C919 Passenger Jet to Take on Boeing, Airbus". 14 March 2024. Archived from the original on 13 May 2024. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  7. ^ Stone, Mike (14 January 2021). "Trump administration adds China's Comac, Xiaomi to Chinese military blacklist". Reuters. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  8. ^ Areddy, James T. (6 January 2025). "Pentagon Labels More Chinese Companies as Military in Nature". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  9. ^ "Comac formally rebrands ARJ21 as C909". Flightglobal.com. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  10. ^ "China's first big passenger plane takes off for maiden flight". BBC News. 5 May 2017. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  11. ^ "Comac confirms 'C929' moniker as widebody enters 'detailed design' stage". Flight Global. 6 November 2023. Archived from the original on 5 December 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  12. ^ Chen, Frank (13 May 2024). "China begins work on new C939 widebody jet, going bigger and bolder after C919's success". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 13 May 2024. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  13. ^ "China's COMAC working on preliminary designs for new C939 widebody jet, SCMP reports". Yahoo Finance. Reuters. 13 May 2024. Archived from the original on 14 May 2024. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
  14. ^ "China's COMAC to start C919 deliveries in 2022, report says". www.aerotime.aero. 20 January 2022. Archived from the original on 31 May 2022. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  15. ^ "COMAC and Bombardier Sign Strategic Agreement on Commercial Aircraft" (Press release). Bombardier. 24 March 2011. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  16. ^ Jon Ostrower (1 April 2011). "Many questions surround Bombardier/Comac partnership". Flight Global. Archived from the original on 6 April 2013. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  17. ^ Weinland, Don (18 May 2017). "Chinese group in talks to aid struggling jet maker Bombardier". Financial Times. United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 21 May 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  18. ^ "China orders 300 Boeing planes worth $38 billion". USA Today. Archived from the original on 2 March 2020. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  19. ^ Thompson, Loren. "Boeing To Build Its First Offshore Plane Factory In China As Ex-Im Bank Withers". Forbes. Archived from the original on 9 October 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  20. ^ Boeing to build plant in Zhoushan Archived 17 February 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Shanghai Daily.
  21. ^ "Ryanair and Comac (Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China) Sign C 919..." Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  22. ^ "China-Russia joint venture to develop wide-body commercial jet" Archived 24 January 2020 at the Wayback Machine. China Daily.
  23. ^ Chua, Alfred (6 November 2023). "Comac confirms 'C929' moniker as widebody enters 'detailed design' stage". Flight Global.
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