I do not believe this aircraft will ever receive FAA
certification. This will prevent it from reaching primary markets and prevent
is from operating within the United States. The certification problems come
from a lack of competence exhibited by the Civil Air Administration of China
(CAAC) during an earlier project in 2011 (Perret 2013). The aircraft may still
be sold to local markets but the goal was to receive the FAA certification and
compete with Airbus and Boeing products.
The certification of this aircraft would provide many
challenges for American carriers. The public perception may play a role if
American carriers chose to operate this aircraft. There is already a perception
among the public that products produced in China are generally not durable and
lack quality (because of mass production). I do not think American carriers
would choose to operate this aircraft even if it was able to receive the
required certification. Airbus and Boeing are both more reliable manufacturers.
The Commercial Aircraft Corporate of China (COMAC) is a
Chinese state owned aerospace manufacturer. The primary project is currently
the 919 (including receiving the required certification). The 929 and 939 are
proposed projects and are larger variants (more seats) of the 919. The company
was created (and owned) by the Chinese government to reduce the reliability on
Airbus and Boeing products.
The certification of this aircraft would open up the opportunity
for other aerospace companies to compete with Airbus and Boeing. This may
provide additional problems as other companies may cut costs in an attempt to
be competitive (risking safety in the process).
Airbus and Boeing have responded to the development of this
aircraft by producing aircraft that are more economically friendly (including producing
new variants of the A320 and 737-800). The engines on the older variants were
replaced to provide the more economically friendly variants (Gates 2015).
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