China Conquers Aviation - Step By Step

China's Comac set to deliver first passenger jets

• China's to deliver first homegrown regional airliner - ARJ21-700

• first two ARJ21-700s have been completed for Chengdu Airlines 
• Comac has 252 orders for the plane.
• created ARJ21 project in 2002 to break Western-dominated market

• China one of biggest aircraft markets over next two decades.
• Boeing forecasts demand at 5,580 planes worth $780 billion.
• ARJ21-700 seat 78 to 90 passengers, range 1,300 - 2,300 miles. 
• completed test flights in North America and flown 8,000 miles.
• company going after China's domestic market and Southeast Asia.
• "first develop business in China and then international market.."
• should complete a bigger plane C919 in 2018
• C919, single-aisle jet meant to compete with Boeing and Airbus Industrie.
• seat up to 168 passengers, range of 2,500 to 3,200 miles.
• 400 orders 16 customers GE Capital Aviation Services, Ryanair 
• May 15 first front fuselage of C919 delivered by a supplier to Comac
• plane will be assembled in second half of 2014
• maiden flight due at end 2015 
• C919 first delivery to customer scheduled for 2018.
• Comac cooperating with Russia to build a next-generation wide-body plane. 
• beginning in 2008, Comac focused on developing the two passenger planes. 
• grown from 3,800 employees to 8,300.
• Comac always planned for its maiden flight to be 90 months from project launch.

My comments : I have blogged about this before - more than a year ago. The Chinese are going about developing their industries in a studied, methodical and market oriented manner. They have set their sights on conquering the aviation sector. I believe they will do it.

China may not have a history of producing large commercial airliners but they have certainly been producing aircraft of various sorts since after the revolution in 1949. And they also produce top of the line fifth generation stealth fighter planes. 

China's J31 Shen Fei Falcon Eagle 5th Generation Stealth Fighter

This industrial base plus large numbers of expert Chinese aviation engineers (including those working in the US)  provides a solid foundation  from which China can aim for the skies.  

Comac is a GLC or Chinese Government linked company. Unlike our GLCs which are not generating new technologies or new wealth the Chinese GLCs like Comac are technology intensive. The only exception perhaps is Silterra which operates in Kulim, Kedah which is breaking the mould in chip fabrication. Unfortunately the Khazanah boys may not understand the business as well.

Coming back to China's aviation plans, the report by Boeing that the aviation market has a demand of USD780 billion or RM2.6 Trillion offers numerous opportunities for everyone including Malaysia. Instead of spending huge resources trying to develop a local car brand we could position ourselves as a major player in the aviation supply chain, supplying intermediate products that go into large passenger planes.  Undercarriages,  wing parts, fuselages, airplane interior parts, engine components are not beyond our apability. It is just a matter of focus.

I think if we speak to the Chinese there can be major opportunities that can be explored. And let everyone in the game. Not just the GLCs. Promote the private sector's participation.

Last week I had an interesting lunch. The talk was that 45,000 bumiputra graduates have been bankrupted - within the past year or something. The Yang Mulia lunch host said that 115,000 bumiputra graduates are unemployed. (In 2002 when I was in the NEAC the figure was about 50,000 unemployed bumiputra graduates). Someone else said that at the Batu Buruk beach in Kuala Terengganu, the weekend crowd can get up to 2000 people - mostly unemployed young boys and girls. Anything goes - drugs, ecstasy pills, khalwat, mat rempitting etc. No one can do anything about it.

The Chinese C919's first delivery is scheduled for 2018. By that time the unemployed bumiputra graduates could reach 140,000.  Someone asked, 'What about unemployed SPM holders?'

What about the SPM holders? Who cares? Let them hang out at Batu Buruk. We have Pandas to take care of. 

Thank to: http://syedsoutsidethebox.blogspot.com/