Chinese aircraft manufacturer COMAC, which launched its first international flights in February, expressed its desire to enter the Saudi aviation market and contribute to supporting the country’s ambition to be a global aviation hub.
COMAC Chairman He Dongfeng stressed that the COMAC cargo aircraft can connect Saudi Arabia with markets in the region, as well as in North Africa and neighboring Asian countries.
Speaking during a panel discussion, “A special conversation with the Commercial Aircraft Company about future growth plans and current trends,” on the second day of the Future Aviation Forum, he said that the Chinese government-owned company is working according to a comprehensive three-year strategy that aims to reduce carbon emissions.
COMAC, which was established in 2008, launched its first ever commercial flights during the month of May 2023, and then announced its intention to produce 150 C919 aircraft annually within five years, adding that it has already obtained more than 1,200 orders from local companies.
The C919 aircraft carries less than 200 passengers, and is the first locally manufactured passenger aircraft of this size. The Chinese company said that it began developing the airplane 15 years ago, to compete with the narrow-body Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 aircraft.
COMAC began its first production lines at a time when the two giants of the aircraft industry, Boeing and Airbus, are facing challenges related to meeting the delivery of aircraft on time, and others related to the shortage of supplies of engines and semiconductors.
