Scheduled to fly in 2016, the COMAC C919 will be China's first large commercial jetliner.
A source close to the deal told China Daily that Hamilton Sundstrand will form a joint-venture partnership with Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) System Co Ltd to develop and manufacture the electrical system, as stated in a letter of intent signed on April 15 in Xi’an, Shaanxi province.
The C919, China’s first large commercial jetliner developed by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd (COMAC), is expected to take flight in 2016.
Shanghai-based COMAC aims to sell more than 2,000 of the 150-seat single-aisle planes over the next 20 years, challenging Airbus and Boeing in both the domestic and global markets.
Hamilton Sundstrand, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp, estimated in a statement on its website that the deal would be worth more than $1 billion in revenue over the life of the program.
“Hamilton Sundstrand is honored to partner with COMAC to provide the electric system on the new C919 aircraft,” said Hamilton Sundstrand President Alain Bellemare.
“With this agreement, Hamilton Sundstrand continues to play a large role in the Chinese aviation industry’s rapid growth.”
The contract is expected to contribute to United Technologies Corp’s estimated 2010 earnings of between $54 billion and $55 billion for 2010.
United Technologies Corp, which also makes Pratt & Whitney jet engines and Sikorsky helicopters, said on Wednesday its first quarter profit jumped 20 percent, the first increase in a year as the industrial conglomerate cited its efforts to cut costs and boost productivity.
United Technologies rose $2.73, or 3.7 percent, to $76.93 in New York Stock Exchange trading on Wednesday.
Hamilton Sundstrand is a key supplier on COMAC’s 90-seat ARJ21 regional jet, including the electric power, high-lift actuation and fire protection systems. — read more at People’s Daily Online…
More financial support from the government will bolster the domestic aviation industry, which is facing strong competition from foreign players such as Boeing and Airbus, said Wu Guanghui, vice-president of the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd (COMAC).
China is forecast to need about 4,000 planes in the next 20 years.
State fund for homegrown jumbo jet urged
Major domestic airlines such as Air China, China Eastern and China Southern, as well as Sichuan Airlines and Hainan Airlines, have expressed strong interest and support in buying his company’s jumbo jet, Wu said.
The letter “C” in the title of the country’s first homegrown jumbo jet is said to stand for “China” as well as “COMAC”, while the first “9″ implies “forever” in Chinese culture and the “19″ stands for the jet’s maximum 190 seats.
The single-aisle jetliner is designed for short- to medium-haul flights of up to 5,555 km.
The draft design of the country’s first independently developed jumbo jet will be completed by this year and be put into production by next year, Wu had said earlier.
The plane is slated to test fly in 2014 and be ready for deliveries after 2016. COMAC, which was founded in 2008 to take charge of the country’s jumbo jet project, expects to sell 2,000 C919 planes at home and abroad in the next two decades, Wu said.
State fund for homegrown jumbo jet urged
“But what could harm the sales of the domestically made planes is that very few aircraft-leasing companies buy domestic airplanes and rent them to airlines,” he said in an interview with China Daily.
“Leasing is the major way for airlines to expand the fleet … and the situation will especially hinder small airlines, which are short of funds, from buying the cheaper homemade jets.”
Wu suggested that the government establish a State fund of at least 30 billion yuan to help homegrown jet buyers with their financing. – read more at ChinaDaily.com…
A model of C919 made by Commercial Aircraft Corp of China is displayed. The State-owned company expects to build 2,000 C919s over 20 years. (Bloomberg News)
Commercial Aircraft Corp of China, also known as Comac, will be at the Singapore Air Show, displaying a model of the 168-seat C919, which is designed to compete with the Boeing Co 737 and Airbus SAS A320. Only one major supplier has been selected for the plane so far, a GE-Safran SA engine venture, which won a $10 billion contract.
State-owned Comac expects to build about 2,000 C919s over 20 years, and hopes to secure 10 percent of the global market, according to Safran. The aircraft is already being touted as a domestic success since the government will place orders and allocate them to State-owned carriers Air China, China Southern and China Eastern Airlines.
“There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that China can be a first-tier aircraft provider at some point,” said Clay Jones, CEO of Rockwell Collins, a maker of cockpit instrumentation. “Everyone sees the market as being important in the future and everyone wants to play in it.”
Rockwell, GE, Honeywell International Inc, Goodrich Corp and United Technologies Corp’s Hamilton Sundstrand are among the aerospace companies competing to work on planes in China. Munich-based MTU Aero Engines Holding AG has already been chosen to help develop future engines for the C919. Separately, Airbus has also set up a plane-assembly plant in the country.
China wants to cooperate with overseas suppliers to access advanced engines, parts and instruments for the C919, which is due to make its maiden flight in 2014 and to enter service two years later. The aircraft is part of China’s bid to end its reliance on Airbus and Boeing. Eventually, the country also wants to challenge the world’s two biggest plane makers overseas. – read more at ChinaDaily.com…
A model of the C919 was unveiled at the Asia Aerospace Expo in Hong Kong this September. (China Daily)
The center, located south of Pudong International Airport, is divided into Pudong Base and Dachang Base, with the former covering an area of 267 hectares, Jin Zhuanglong, general manager of COMAC, said in Shanghai.
Construction of the Pudong base will start by year-end, and it targets to manufacture 20 homegrown C919 jets and 50 ARJ 21-series planes annually by 2016, the company said.
The division, which has a registered capital of 2 billion yuan, is among COMAC’s three key units responsible for aircraft design, manufacturing and service. Work on the manufacturer’s research and development center started in Pudong’s Zhangjiang Hi-tech Park this July.
“Assembly and manufacturing are among the core capabilities that ensure the business success of ARJ 21 and C919 passenger planes and it will largely boost China’s civil airplane industry,” Jin said.
Shanghai-based COMAC was established in May 2008 with 19 billion yuan in registered capital to take on Boeing and Airbus in China’s fledgling but booming aviation market by building a home grown 150-seat passenger aircraft. – read more at ChinaDaily.com…
