On the
development trail
China is developing its own new airliners as part of an effort to sustain annual RPK growth of 7.7%, writes Bernard Fitzsimons.
I
n January 2000, China had 453 passenger aircraft with 100 or more seats, plus another 47 on order. By December 2010, according to Airbus, the operational fl eet had more than trebled to 1,386 aircraft, while the order backlog had grown 12-fold to 565, and forecasters were predicting that the fl eet would treble in size again over the next 20 years.
In 2008, Airbus and two Chinese partners opened a local fi nal assembly line for the A320 family at Tianjing. The fi rst aircraft was delivered to Chengdu-
32
based Sichuan Airlines in June 2009. Thirty-seven aircraft had been completed by the end of 2010 and Airbus expects the production rate to reach three a month in 2011. However, to meet the forecast requirement for single-aisle airliners – 3,090 of them over the next 20 years, according to Boeing – the assembly line would have to turn out more like three a week from now on.
It will not have to, of course. The country already has the world’s largest national fl eet of Boeing 737NGs,
with more on the way. Plus, there are continuing imports of Europe-assembled Airbuses, and China is forging ahead with development of its own aircraft industry.
Commercial Aircraft Company of China (COMAC)
A 2008 reorganisation saw the formation of the Shanghai-based Commercial Aircraft Company of China (COMAC), with responsibility for passenger aircraft of 70 seats or more, while Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) is responsible for other large aircraft.
www.routes-news.com
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