Air China stated Tuesday that it would “absolutely” support a domestic challenger to Boeing and Airbus, even as the company plans to reduce variety in its fleet and phase out certain models.
The state-controlled Air China is the largest Chinese international carrier by market value and operates 200 Boeing and Airbus planes as part of its [...]
China’s first engineering center for airworthiness has been inaugurated in Shanghai.
The establishment of the center, which falls under jurisdiction of the Shanghai-based Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC), is an important step forward in catching up with the two other major players, Boeing and Airbus.
Zhao Yuerang, chief of the airworthiness administrative department of COMAC, said, [...]
Air China’s chairman said he was uncertain about the carrier’s ability to post a profit in 2009, citing poor passenger volumes and weak imports and exports “It is difficult to be optimistic about this year,” said Kong Dong, although he noted that Air China remains the strongest financially of the country’s major airlines. While Kong [...]
China Eastern Airlines hopes to offset the impact of heavy losses for 2008 by selling off its stakes in certain units and cutting orders for new planes. Liu Shaoyong, the company chairman, admitted that the chances of turning a profit this year are still slim. The airline’s target is to “substantially stem losses” in 2009 [...]
China’s aviation regulator is urging airlines to cap their fleet sizes as travel demand weakens amid the global economic slowdown. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has advised domestic carriers to cancel or postpone aircraft scheduled for delivery in 2009 and allow aircraft leasing agreements with foreign companies to run out. It also suggests [...]
General Electric (GE) will buy five Chinese regional jets, with an option to purchase 20 more, in a deal that could be worth up to US$750 million. This marks the first overseas order for China’s major aircraft manufacturer, Commercial Aircraft Corp of China, and a milestone in the country’s long-term ambitions to become a rival [...]
US airframe maker Boeing said it expects China to need 3,710 new commercial aircraft, worth about US$390 billion, over the next 20 years. China is the fastest-growing aviation center in the world and accounts for 41% of all airplane demand in the Asia-Pacific region, a Boeing spokesman said Wednesday. The single-aisle market would account for [...]
The world’s third-largest aircraft manufacturer, Embraer, said the mainland will need a further 883 regional aircraft over the next 20 years. “China has an undeveloped market for regional and corporate jets given that they account for just a fraction of the total number of aircraft in the country,” Embraer vice president Guan Dongyuan told reporters [...]
