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Frank Chen

More Chinese carriers are willing to operate home-grown aircraft, especially the C919, if more can roll off the assembly line faster, but the demand-supply mismatch means it is now a trying time for the country’s leading planemaker, according to industrial insiders.
They added that a parts shortage facing the manufacturer may be more than about aero engines.
Executives from at least two airlines told an aviation forum held in Guangzhou on Thursday and Friday that they would welcome the marquee Chinese narrowbody model to join their fleets.
“We hope to fly the C919 in the near future, but, for now, supply chain issues and production speed remain a stumble,” said Xiong Taotao, a deputy president overseeing engineering and technology at a carrier that is among China’s largest by fleet size.
At the same event, directors from Zhejiang-based Loong Air, one of the fastest growing carriers in China, also indicated their “strong interest” in the C919 as the firm aims to expand and diversify its fleet asset.
These overtures from prospective buyers in the home market have again thrust production and capacity at the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) back into the limelight at the Guangzhou forum.
The planemaker has delivered a total of 42 C919 units to domestic buyers, of which 10 were made in the first seven months of 2026, according to a tally by the South China Morning Post, based on carrier records and estimates by forum participants.
These numbers contrast with the bulging orders – with at least 360 confirmed – for the home-grown single-aisle airliner laden with Beijing’s ambition to break the Boeing-Airbus duopoly.
Comac’s slower-than-expected production ramp-up so far this year, following a tumultuous year of 2025, during which engine supply from the West was briefly halted, suggests headwinds are still racing in its way, an aviation veteran said.
“Production today is undeniably falling behind initial planning about order delivery and marketing progress … This may suggest its woes go beyond [securing the supply of] engines,” said Wang Jian, who spent decades leading engineering and aircraft management at China Southern Airlines’ base in Zhuhai.


“The Leap 1C engine from the West is no longer subject to Washington’s export controls so there could be shortages of other parts and components, holding Comac back from boosting the output,” Wang assessed.
The Trump administration in May 2025 ordered the suspension of engine exports to China when Washington and Beijing crossed swords during the trade war. But shipments resumed in July as tensions eased.
“Even when engines are delivered on schedule, geopolitical and other factors can delay the arrival of critical supporting components and systems. Such delays inevitably disrupt downstream production,” Wang noted.
“As the Chinese saying goes, the beginning is always the hardest. This is the case for Comac, still a young entrant into aviation manufacturing … Access to aircraft parts has cycles and in the current one it’s all about undersupply.
“The timing has been less favourable when Comac seeks to beef up C919 production,” he said, adding that parts shortages were also inflicting pain on Boeing and Airbus.
On top of engines from CFM International, the C919 also incorporated key avionics and landing gear systems, among others, from the likes of Honeywell, Collins and Liebherr.
Wang added that a modern commercial airliner comprised 100,000-plus components spanning numerous specialised fields, making it impossible for any single planemaker to produce everything in-house and that collaborative manufacturing was the only viable solution.
But he also argued that established aviation players in America and Europe were “reluctant” to allow any newcomer to compete for a share in this long-monopolised high-end segment.
Comac, however, has been undertaking debottlenecking work all along, according to Wang, as he dismissed talk that it would fail to pull off.
“It is learning to navigate more nimbly in tight restrictions and conjure victories from challenges … Aircraft development and delivery cannot be simply measured by one single year or the short span of just a few months,” he said.
“With the long-term efforts to develop domestic substitution for engines and other parts, production will be less prone to external uncertainties going forward,” Wang added.


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Economy

Parts shortage and supply chain production remain a problem and may be about more than just aero engines, industrial veteran says


Parts shortage and supply chain production remain a problem and may be about more than just aero engines, industrial veteran says.


More interest in home-grown C919 lays bare demand-supply mismatch at Comac

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Parts shortage and supply chain production remain a problem and may be about more than just aero engines, industrial veteran says

Parts shortage and supply chain production remain a problem and may be about more than just aero engines, industrial veteran says