Comac ramps up challenge to Boeing and Airbus with plans to boost C919 production capacity

China’s leading aircraft manufacturer plans a further 50 per cent boost to production capacity for the C919 – the country’s first home-grown narrowbody jet – this year as it ramps up the challenge to the Boeing-Airbus duopoly in the domestic market, according to information shared with suppliers at a conference in Xian this week.

Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) said it will increase production capacity to 75 planes – up from the 50 it announced in January – according to a WeChat account focused on the company’s supply chain that shared updates delivered at Thursday’s conference.

It also announced plans to increase annual C919 production capacity to 200 planes by 2029.

Comac plans to produce over 50 C919 jets this year, up from its original target of 30, with annual output expected to reach 150 by 2029.

The Shanghai-based manufacturer did not disclose details on its WeChat account but the figures were widely circulated on the Weibo microblog service – the Chinese equivalent of X – through screenshots and reports from people who attended the conference. The company did not respond to a request for confirmation from the Post.

According to the production plan presented at the conference, C919 production capacity will rise to 100 planes next year.

The conference was also told that annual procurement costs for the C919 programme have surged 70 per cent year on year, which would take this year’s figure to about 34 billion yuan (US$4.7 billion).