China's C919 aircraft holds advantages over rivals, says expert

ROME - China's self-developed large passenger aircraft C919 holds certain advantages over established foreign rivals, a leading European expert in the sector has said.

"It's very early, but we can say that the C919's path to becoming a rival to large and established companies like Boeing and Airbus is not impossible," said Andrea Giuricin, head of transportation-focused firm TRA Consulting, in an interview with Xinhua.

On May 28, the C919 completed its first commercial flight from Shanghai to Beijing operated by China Eastern Airlines, marking its official entry into the civil aviation market.

The C919 project was launched in 2007. Developed by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd (COMAC), the first C919 aircraft rolled off the production line in Shanghai in November 2015. In 2017, the plane accomplished its maiden flight.

Giuricin said that the C919's primary advantage could lie in its home-field advantage in China. With China accounting for approximately one-fifth of global air traffic and boasting a growth rate of more than air traffic annually -- faster than both the United States and Europe -- the country could be on pace to become the world's largest air traffic market by 2050, he noted.

According to L'Usine Nouvelle, a French technology publication, the C919 will be more powerful than the Boeing 737 and the Airbus 320, and it could rival those aircraft in terms of fuel efficiency.