Comac Wants Stretched C919 In Service By 2030, C929 By 2035

LE BOURGET—Comac is lining up several more commercial airliners to enter service but has no plans to develop a supersonic jet. 

Among the additional offerings are two more versions of the C919 followed by the twin-aisle C929 and then the high capacity C939, which would be a direct competitor to the Boeing 777X.

The initial focus will be on derivatives of the C919, according to a company official who shared an update here at the Paris Air Show. A shortened version of the C919 for hot and high use and seating up to 160 passengers will be next to enter service in 2028 with its first flight planned for 2027. The aircraft will be six frames shorter than the baseline C919, 17 of which are in service with the three biggest Chinese airlines Air China, China Southern and China Eastern.

A stretched variant is now planned to enter service in 2030. The aircraft will have 11 more frames than the standard C919 and will offer a maximum capacity of 240 seats, as compared to the yet-to-be-certified maximum of 192 for the baseline aircraft. Comac plans to add a second overwing emergency exit and a full-size door between the overwing exits and the rear to ensure evacuation limits can be met.

Comac has yet to secure government funding for the stretch, whereas the shortened variant has already been approved.

The stretch will have a range of 3,000 nm, essentially the same as the standard aircraft. Comac is targeting a Mach 0.78 cruise speed. The maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) will be 95 tons, according to Comac’s display here at the show. It will require a higher thrust variant of the CFM International Leap-1C. Comac plans to add three fuel tanks ahead of and behind the main center tank.

The C929 is slated to be ready for entry into service by 2035, significantly behind the initial plans when it was still a joint project with Russia. Like for the stretched C919, Comac still needs government approval to unlock funding.

China's first twin-aisle jet is now designed to carry 282 passengers in a standard layout over a maximum of 6,500 nm. Like the Boeing 787, Comac plans to offer nine-abreast seating in economy class. Its maximum takeoff weight is going to be 247.5 tons, according to current plans. That compares to 228 tons for the 787-8 and 254.7 tons for the 787-9. The 787-8 has a range of 7,300 nm whereas the -9 flies up to 7,565 nm, according to Boeing.

The C929 is to be followed by the C939, which is to be positioned as a competitor to the Boeing 777X. An entry-into-service date and further technical details have not yet been made public.  According to Zhang, no supersonic aircraft is planned, even in the longer term.