Beyond Boeing: Why India should test, not ignore, China’s C919 planes

The Chinese government has asked its airlines not to procure fresh Boeing aircraft and refrain from taking deliveries of aircraft already ordered, in retaliation for the 145% tariffs imposed by the US on Chinese exports. 

According to news reports, Chinese airline companies had placed orders for about 100 units of 737Max aircraft and 11 units of 787 Dreamliners from Boeing. If these aircraft are ready, and Chinese airliners decline to take delivery, it could well mean Indian aviation companies moving up in the queue for their own aircraft orders. This would be a welcome development for a country with fleet shortage. That said, India should not join any boycott of Boeing planes.

The C919, built by the Commercial Aerospace Corp. of China (COMAC), is positioned as a rival to Boeing’s 737 Max and Airbus’s A320 variants. The aircraft was initially designed with help from Russia’s United Aircraft Corp. After the Ukraine war and sanctions on Russia, COMAC distanced itself from Russian involvement, with reports of commercial differences doing the rounds. 

While Canada’s Bombardier has helped COMAC with supply chains, the engine for the C919 has been procured from CFM, a joint venture between America’s GE and France’s Safran (Safran supplies the engines for Rafale fighter jets). C919’s fuselage and wings are largely homegrown products, reportedly designed using China’s supercomputing capability for modelling.

So far, the C919 has been certified only by the Civil Aviation Administration of China. The plane has been carrying passengers on China’s domestic routes since mid-2023. Neither America’s Federal Aviation Administration nor the European Aviation Safety Agency has certified the C919’s airworthiness. As the parent governments of the global duopoly of Boeing and Airbus for medium- and long-haul passenger aircraft, neither the US nor the EU feels any urgency to certify a potential competitor to their aerospace champions.

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The global duopoly 

Boeing has pending orders of over 4,800 aircraft for its 737 series. Airbus has a waiting list of over 7,200 aircraft for its A320 family of aircraft. The world needs fresh competition to this duopoly. Aviation is both an agent and catalyst of fast growth. The inability to meet the needs of the passenger aviation industry constrains global growth.

India, one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation markets, is particularly affected. Indian passengers pay through the nose for their domestic travel on account of the limited capacity on most routes.

Certifying C919 does not mean that Indian airline companies would rush to place orders for large numbers of these aircraft from India’s prickly neighbour. The volatile relations between the two countries create concerns about the reliability of supplies for spare parts and components.

If India does not propose to buy the C919, why should it take the trouble to certify its airworthiness? India might not be in the same league as the US and Europe, but it is a country with a successful space programme and proven technological competence in diverse areas. If India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) were to certify a plane as airworthy, it would enhance its credibility among a host of nations that do not have such certification skills but have demand for aircraft.

If India were to initiate certification for the C919, it would offer multiple benefits. 

First, it would signal a welcome gesture of solidarity with a fellow BRICS member. India and China may be rivals, but there’s scope for cooperation—from a BRICS clearing house insulated from Western sanctions to an alternative reinsurance platform, not at the mercy of global hegemons, and even a digital currency alternative to the dollar.

Two, it would potentially reduce the wait time for Indian airline companies that have placed large orders for planes. To the extent that Indian certification could improve confidence in the Chinese rival to Boeing 737s and Airbus 320s, and some orders from outside China may go to COMAC plane. This would free up Boeing and Airbus to meet pending orders from India.

Third, it would quietly remind the world that this isn’t the era of William McKinley anymore. The 25th US president, on whom Trump seeks to model himself, championed tariffs and empire — winning the Spanish-American war and annexing the Philippines, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam and American Samoa. Currently, the world economy is far more interlinked. Efforts by the US to cause other nations pain would result in unanticipated setbacks to US economic agents. 

By testing the C919, India wouldn’t be picking sides. It would be showing that it knows how to play the long game.

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