Two companies, Boeing and Airbus, dominated the airline industry for decades. But Boeing’s recent safety concerns this year, as well as production shortfalls at both planemakers, may have carriers wondering if it’s time to change the competitive landscape.
“We need more competition in the aerospace business,” United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said at the conference. Air show podcast, according to the aviation agency Air current. Kirby said his airline isn’t yet ready to spend money on planes from manufacturers other than Airbus or Boeing, but it is “just starting to think” about finding a new supplier.
Boeing is still grappling with the fallout from an incident in early January when a door seal on a Boeing 737 Max 9 operated by Alaska Airlines exploded mid-flight. This prompted closer scrutiny of Boeing’s manufacturing processes. The company has slowed down production of its aircraft. annoying telecom operators who expected to receive Boeing aircraft this year.
Kirby has complained about Boeing’s problems before. I’m calling The temporary grounding of the 737 Max 9 in January, ordered by the US Federal Aviation Administration, was “the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
Boeing rival Airbus is also facing problems. Lack of spare parts and labor as reported forcing the European aircraft maker to delay deliveries to carriers. Hundreds of Airbus 320neo aircraft will also need be grounded to replace faulty components in engines manufactured by the Pratt & Whitney supplier.
COMAC as a third supplier?
But who could this third supplier be?
One option is COMAC and its C919 narrowbody aircraft, similar to the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320. The Chinese state-owned manufacturer unveiled the C919 at the Singapore Air Show earlier this year in its first international showing.
At the Fortune Innovation Forum earlier this year, Cathay Pacific CEO Ronald Lam suggested that the aviation world could be moving toward an “ABC market”: Airbus, Boeing and COMAC. The head of Hong Kong’s flagship airline, which currently flies Boeing and Airbus aircraft, suggested such “three-way competition” would benefit the industry.
Kirby in his commentary on Airshow Podcast, not quite so sure. “It’s not inevitable, I think it’s unlikely,” he said when asked whether the third supplier would be Chinese.
So far, only Chinese airlines have committed to purchasing the C919, although Saudi Arabian airlines have already announced their intention to purchase the C919. as reported expressed some interest in the work of COMAC. C919 still needs to be approved by regulators in Europe and the US before it can be commercialized in those markets.
Even the COMAC ARJ21 regional jet, which has been in commercial service since 2016, has yet to receive US regulatory approval. (A small Indonesian airline is the only non-Chinese carrier using the ARJ21)
Instead, Kirby believes Brazil’s Embraer could be the new contender.
Embraer is the industry’s third-largest manufacturer after Boeing and Airbus. The Brazilian company currently produces smaller regional jets with a capacity of just under 100 passengers. However, Embraer is exploring the possibility of creating a next-generation narrow-body aircraft, Wall Street Journal reported in May.