China Wins First Orders for C919

General Electric Co.’s leasing arm and China’s big three domestic airlines are among customers for the narrowbody plane, state-controlled Comac said in a statement issued at the Zhuhai air show in southern China today. Chinese airlines accounted for more than half the orders, said Zhang Xinguo, vice president of Comac shareholder, Aviation Industry Corp. of China.

Comac has a full-sized model of the front section of the aircraft on display at the show as it challenges Boeing and Airbus’s grip on a domestic plane market that could be worth $480 billion through 2029, according to Boeing. The Chinese planemaker expects to sell more than 2,000 C919s worldwide over 20 years competing against Boeing and Airbus’s most popular jets.

“The aircraft is of national importance,” said Harry Chen, a Shenzhen-based analyst at Guotai Junan Securities Co. “But, as it’s only on the drawing board so far, we still have to see how fuel-efficient and less expensive it really is.”

China Customers
The C919’s Chinese customers include Air China Ltd., China Southern Airlines Co., China Eastern Airlines Corp., HNA Group Co. and CDB Leasing Co., according to the statement. It didn’t say how many planes had been ordered by each customer.

Air China’s head of investor relations, Rao Xinyu, and China Eastern spokesman Li Jiang declined to comment. Calls to China Southern’s joint board secretary Xie Bing went unanswered. GE Capital Aviation Services Ltd., the world’s largest plane lessor, said it agreed to buy as many as 10 C919s.

The C919, which has 166 seats in its standard version, competes with Boeing’s 737 and the Airbus A320. The plane is scheduled to make its maiden flight in 2014 before entering service two years later.

Gecas, as the GE leasing unit is known, also announced an order for as many as 25 China-made ARJ21 regional aircraft at the last Zhuhai air show in 2008, as GE seeks to boost sales in the world’s fastest growing major economy. The 70-seat ARJ21, China’s first regional jet, is due to make its maiden exhibition flight at this week’s show.

China first announced plans for the C919 in 2008 to help develop a globally competitive aerospace industry and pare its reliance on imports. The nation will trail only the U.S. in plane orders over the next 20 years, according to Boeing.

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