SEOUL — A steady stream of new roles and orders for the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) Surion helicopter is coming from the South Korean government, making a production run of 300 aircraft look probable and 400 quite possible. The army utility version of the 8.7-ton (19,200-lb.) helo has been in service for a year, after delayed development. A police version is in flight trials, an amphibious-assault version for the South Korean marine corps is under development with a production contract, and an army medical evacuation version has just been ordered.

Chances are rising that the Comac C919 will be largely limited to the Chinese market, as the manufacturer works towards local airworthiness certification while seeing no clear path to the desired FAA endorsement of the type. The Chinese market is big, so sales of perhaps 1,000 units remain plausible, in the opinion of program officials. But the 158-seat narrowbody’s prospects for making a much bigger splash on the wider market, perhaps never large, are diminishing.

China Southern is trying to build up at one of SkyTeam partner China Eastern’s major bases with an application to set up a branch company in Kunming. The move follows China Eastern’s defeat of a similar move by China Southern at Shanghai in the past two months. Before that, China Eastern’s lobbying prevented China Southern from flying Airbus A380s between Kunming and Beijing. Under the bureaucratic scheme of the Chinese airline industry, a branch company can be the basis of enlarged operations.