Two firms, Boeing and Airbus, have dominated the airline industry for a long time. But Boeing’s recent safety problems this 12 months, together with production bottlenecks at each aircraft makers, can have airlines wondering if it is time to change the competitive landscape.
“We need more competition in the aerospace industry,” said Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines, on the Airshow Podcast, based on Aviation Outlet The air flowKirby said his airline was not yet able to spend money on aircraft from a manufacturer aside from Airbus or Boeing, but had “just started thinking about” finding a brand new supplier.
Boeing remains to be grappling with the aftermath of early January, when the door latch on a Boeing 737 Max 9 operated by Alaska Airlines burst in mid-flight. This led to a more in-depth take a look at Boeing’s manufacturing processes and the corporate has reduced production of its aircraft. annoying carriers who had expected the delivery of Boeing jets this 12 months.
Kirby has previously complained about Boeing’s difficulties. vocation The temporary flight bans for the 737 Max 9 ordered by the US aviation authority FAA were the “straw that broke the camel’s back”.
Boeing’s competitor Airbus also has problems. Parts shortages and labor shortages are According to reports The European aircraft manufacturer needed to delay its deliveries to airlines. Hundreds of Airbus 320neo jets may also need to stay on the bottom to interchange defective components in engines manufactured by supplier Pratt & Whitney.
COMAC as a third-party supplier?
But who could this third supplier be?
One possibility is COMAC with its narrow-body C919 aircraft, which resembles the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320. The Chinese state-owned manufacturer unveiled the C919 at its first international launch on the Singapore Air Show earlier this 12 months.
At the Fortune Innovation Forum earlier this 12 months, Cathay Pacific CEO Ronald Lam said the aviation world may very well be moving towards an “ABC market”: Airbus, Boeing and COMAC. The boss of Hong Kong’s flagship airline, which currently uses each Boeing and Airbus jets, said such “triangular competition” can be good for the industry.
Kirby said in his comments to the Airshow Podcastwill not be so sure. “It is not inevitable, I think it is unlikely,” he said when asked whether a 3rd supplier would come from China.
So far, only China-based airlines have committed to buying the C919, although airlines from Saudi Arabia According to reports has expressed some interest in COMAC’s work. The C919 still must be approved by European and US regulators before it could be used commercially in those markets.
Even COMAC’s ARJ21 regional jet, which has been in industrial service since 2016, has yet to be approved by U.S. regulators. (A small Indonesian airline is the one non-Chinese carrier using the ARJ21.)
Instead, Kirby believes Brazilian airline Embraer may very well be a brand new challenger.
Embraer is the third largest manufacturer within the industry after Boeing and Airbus. The Brazilian company currently produces smaller regional jets with a capability of just below 100 units. But Embraer is exploring the potential for developing a next-generation narrow-body jet that Wall Street Journal reported in May.
