China is set to become the world’s largest market for aircraft and the nation’s first domestically developed large jet will aim to grab a share of that business.

The country will need 6,810 aircraft valued at more than $1 trillion in the two decades through 2035, Boeing Co. predicted in September. That would make China the biggest single-country market for planes, and the third-largest as a region, behind Europe and North America.

State-backed Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China Ltd. is poised to conduct the first flight of the locally built C919 before the end of May, according to two people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public. The test flight is delayed by more than a year.

The nation will surpass the U.S. as the world’s largest air-travel market even sooner, around 2024, according to the International Air Transport Association. The number of people flying to, from and within China will jump to 1.3 billion by 2035, compared with 1.1 billion for the U.S., IATA said.

Of China’s total plane demand in the 20-year period, 75 percent will be single-aisle -- a category dominated by Boeing’s 737 and Airbus SE’s A320 family that the C919 will be looking to break.

China Eastern Airlines Corp. will be the first carrier to take delivery of the C919. Comac received 570 orders as of November for the plane, which will need to be certified by U.S. and European authorities before it can fly there.

Source:
courtesy of BLOOMBERG

by Bloomberg News

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