China renamed its homegrown regional airliner to better sell it abroad. Here's how it compares to its closest rival.

17.11.2024 - 10:57 / insider.com

China's state-owned planemaker, the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, better known as Comac, has rebranded its regional aircraft to better compete with Airbus, Boeing, and Embraer.

Given Boeing's lack of a regional jet and Airbus' A220's unique market fit into regional or mainline operations, the newly rebranded C909 would most closely compete with Embraer's E2 series.

The Brazilian company's E190-E2 and larger E195-E2 were built as next-generation successors to Embraer's classic E-Jets and first flew passengers in 2018 and 2019.

The jetliners are more expensive than Comac's but outperform the C909 in size and power.

The E190-E2 has secured just 52 orders and delivered 25 to date, while the E195-E2 is proving more popular with 282 total orders and 110 delivered.

Comac has delivered about 150 C909s since its 2016 inaugural flight, mostly to Chinese airlines. Another 60 are on order, likely a sign of relief for the planemaker after securing very few C909 orders since 2021.

Comac is struggling to sell outside China. The US and Europe are likely far from certifying China's homegrown aircraft, though it has found business with Indonesian airline TransNusa.

Despite Embraer's higher order count, it has yet to sell its E2 family to US airlines due to pilot union contracts, nor to China despite both planes being certified in the country. Embraer's presence at November's airshow suggests it's still vying for a piece of the Chinese market.

Comac data shows the C909 seats five abreast and can carry 78 passengers in two classes (or up to 97 in a high-density configuration). The plane is about 110 feet long.

China Southern Airlines, for example, configured 90 economy seats on its C909. Indonesian operator TransNusa has installed 95 coach seats.

By comparison, the E190-E2 and E195-E2 are larger at about 119 feet and 136 feet, respectively.

The E190 accommodates 97 people in three classes and up to 114 in a high-density economy cabin. The larger variant can carry 120 people in three classes and up to 146 people at max capacity.

However, the E2 seats are in a narrower 2×2 layout, which may be more claustrophobic for passengers than Comac's five-abreast configuration.

Regional planes focus on short and medium-haul flights to connect to smaller markets. A longer range can give airlines more route flexibility, but one of Comac's biggest disadvantages is power.

China's C909 is equipped with two General Electric CF34-10A turbofan engines mounted to the back of the aircraft. Depending on the payload, they can propel the C909 between 1,382 and 2,300 miles — but the decades-old engines are less efficient than modern ones.

Embraer's E190-E2 and E195-E2 jetliners use Pratt and Whitney's better-performing PW1900G engines