C919 makes appearance over Dubai, Airbus and Boeing respond

【Text by Observer Net, Xiong Chaoran】As the largest aerospace exhibition in the Middle East, the 2025 Dubai Air Show was held from November 17 to 21. On the opening day, the C919 passenger aircraft produced by China's Commercial Aircraft Corporation (COMAC) performed a flight display in Dubai, expanding its influence in the global aerospace industry.

According to Reuters on the local time of November 17, as China's first completely independently developed mainline aircraft, the C919 made its debut with a white fuselage and blue-green detailing at the Dubai Air Show, displaying the "C919" logo on its belly for officials from various countries. The report stated that although this display was brief, it was significant, highlighting an important strategic project of China.

Currently, Boeing and Airbus are facing delivery delays, while COMAC is seeking to carve out a niche in the market. Since the C919 was officially launched about 17 years ago, COMAC has always aimed to challenge Boeing, Airbus, and Embraer, a Brazilian regional aircraft manufacturer.

Facing a new competitor in the "race", Stephanie Pope, CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, welcomed COMAC's arrival but also vowed to maintain a competitive edge through continuous innovation. "Competition is good for the entire industry, and it's good for Boeing as well. It makes all of us better," she told Reuters.

Christian Scherer, CEO of Airbus Commercial Airplanes, told Reuters: "This is not a threat, but a competitor, and that's a reality."

On the local time of November 17, 2025, in Dubai, UAE, the 2025 Dubai International Air Show was grandly opened at Dubai Al Maktoum International Airport, where the domestically produced large aircraft C919 made its Middle East debut. IC Photo

The C919 is a large jet civilian aircraft independently developed by China according to international civil aviation regulations, with independent intellectual property rights, primarily meeting the demand for large and medium capacity markets both domestically and internationally. Its direct competitors are the Airbus A320Neo and Boeing B737Max. In most performance indicators, the C919's list price is lower than those two competitors.

According to reports, despite the C919's first exhibition at the Singapore Air Show last year, the company's existing two models, the C909 and C919, have not yet received key certifications from Western regulatory authorities, and COMAC is seeking to enhance its international visibility in other markets.

Reuters reported that Chinese exhibitors did not answer questions about finding the first buyer outside East Asia for the C919, but from their market promotion, they have compared this ambitious plan to Dubai's own transformation.

In the exhibition hall for business negotiations, COMAC focused on introducing its plan to build a "family of aircraft" to compete with Boeing and Airbus' multiple models.

Among these plans, there is a longer version of the C919, also known as the "Stretched Variant," which can accommodate 210 passengers, mainly serving the Asia-Pacific region.

This stretched version targets the Airbus A321neo and the upcoming Boeing 737 MAX 10, which are the top end of the single-aisle passenger aircraft market, where Boeing and Airbus are engaged in the fiercest order battles.

Additionally, COMAC also displayed its regional aircraft, the C909, which is China's first commercial production jet aircraft, having been in service since 2016.

According to media such as Reuters and the Singapore Business Times, last month, the Brunei Civil Aviation Authority issued a revised civil aviation regulation on October 23, formally recognizing the airworthiness standards of the China Civil Aviation Administration and listing it as an acceptable design country airworthiness authority. This means that Brunei will allow its airlines to operate Chinese-made aircraft.

The report stated that Brunei's Qiji Airlines played a key role in promoting the official approval of introducing Chinese-made aircraft. In 2023, with Chinese financial support, the company ordered 15 C909 and 15 C919 aircraft.

Reuters said that neither the C909 nor the C919 models have yet received major customers on a broader global scale, and analysts believe that China is unlikely to occupy a significant share of the global passenger aircraft market in the short term, but the emergence of its models clearly shows the ambition to "break into one of the last strongholds of Western manufacturing."

The report also mentioned that COMAC currently faces some challenges. Previously, due to trade disputes, the United States had suspended the export of CFM engines used in the C919 to China this year.

On July 4, Reuters cited sources saying that the U.S. government had notified General Electric Aviation the day before that it could resume exporting jet engines to COMAC. The report at the time described this as another sign of easing Sino-U.S. trade tensions. At the same time, the U.S. also lifted restrictions on the export of chip design software and ethane to China, indicating progress in bilateral trade negotiations.

COMAC stated in a statement that the company will continue to be committed to open cooperation and look forward to building closer, stronger, and deeper relationships with global customers and partners.

Zhang Zhonglin, a civil aviation worker, previously told Observer Net that as long as the C919 obtains the certification from either EASA or the FAA, it would achieve the main goal, since the EASA and FAA certificates are equally hard. Moreover, even without the FAA or EASA airworthiness certificate, if the airworthiness certification of the CAAC is solid enough, the C919 can still sail overseas and operate flights in that country, provided that the civil aviation regulatory authorities of the country recognize the CAAC's airworthiness certification.

It should be noted that exporting to overseas is not the top priority for the C919. China currently has more than 4,000 civil aviation aircraft, and there are more than 3,200 aircraft of the same level as the C919. The growth and replacement of this vast market is sufficient for the C919 to shine. Now, the main issue is how to quickly increase the production capacity of the C919 to meet more orders.

According to Xinhua News Agency, on the local time of November 17, the Dubai Air Show was launched at Dubai Al Maktoum International Airport in the UAE, with the domestic aircraft C919 and C909 appearing at the air show site, marking COMAC's first participation in the Dubai Air Show.

In the static display area of the air show, the C919 aircraft of China Southern Airlines and the C909 executive jet of COMAC appeared together. This C919 aircraft of China Southern Airlines adopts a three-class layout with 164 seats. The C909 executive jet has spacious and comfortable cabin space, which can be flexibly set up with rest areas, guest areas, meeting areas, and dining areas, providing configuration schemes ranging from 12 to 29 seats, capable of meeting diverse travel needs of customers.

Additionally, COMAC also exhibited a full range of aircraft models in the exhibition hall, including the basic type of C909, C919, and C929, the C909 executive jet, medical aircraft, emergency rescue command aircraft, fire-fighting aircraft, cargo aircraft, as well as the shortened and extended versions of the C919, aiming to meet the various demands of the global aviation market with a diverse product lineup.

As of now, the C909 aircraft has delivered over 170 units to domestic and foreign customers, operating more than 790 routes, and has been put into operation in Southeast Asia; the C919 aircraft has delivered 26 units, operating over 30 routes; and the development of the C929 aircraft is progressing steadily.

This article is an exclusive work by Observer Net. Without permission, it cannot be reprinted.

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