(Dec 24): Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd is set to miss a revised delivery target for its marquee C919 single-aisle jet, dealing a blow to its global ambitions after trade war-induced headwinds helped hamper production.
China’s answer to Airbus SE and Boeing Co had shipped just 13 of its flagship C919 aircraft in the year through Dec 22, data from aviation consultancy Cirium and Planespotters.net show. That matches the same number of C919s it handed airlines in 2024.
Comac, as it’s known, slashed its annual delivery target to 25 aircraft from 75 earlier this year, Bloomberg has reported — but is still on track to fall well short. With just days left in 2025, the planemaker is set to miss even the revised goal by almost 50% — and the original target by more than 80% — barring a late surge in deliveries.
Among expected recipients of the C919, China’s three largest carriers — Air China Ltd, China Southern Airlines Co and China Eastern Airlines Corp — planned to induct a combined 32 aircraft, according to their 2024 annual reports. So far, they’ve received a dozen, according to the data.
Comac didn’t respond to a faxed request for comment on its total number of deliveries. Air China, China Southern and China Eastern didn’t reply to requests for comment.
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The potential miss comes as Comac last month received a boost from several state-owned shareholders, injecting 44 billion yuan into the planemaker, according to data from Chinese corporate registry platform Tianyancha that was cited by local media. The cash would enable Comac to scale up and boost production.
Comac said as recently as a supplier conference in March 2025 that it planned to raise capacity output next year to make 100 of the aircraft. That will be followed by 150 in both 2027 and 2028, and then 200 annually by 2029, the company said.
But challenges this year hurt capacity, notably difficulties receiving a steady flow of parts for new aircraft — including engines from CFM International, a joint venture between GE Aerospace and France’s Safran SA, that were subjected to a US export ban. Comac depends on those engines for the C919 and also uses GE engines for its smaller C909 regional jet.
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The Chinese company is pressing ahead with efforts to sell its aircraft overseas, seeking to capitalise on strong global demand for new fuel-efficient jets priced below rivals from Airbus and Boeing, even as the lack of gold-standard airworthiness certification from US and European regulators continues to constrain sales.
The push comes as the world’s two dominant planemakers have been hobbled by parts shortages and quality lapses, creating an opening for smaller players like Comac and Brazil’s Embraer.
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