China announced 50 new orders for its new Comac C919 passenger jet at the opening of the country’s main air show yesterday and looked set to assist in the rebirth of one of the most famous names in aviation — defunct US carrier Eastern Air Lines.
The dozens of new orders for China’s first large commercial passenger jet were seen dominating the first day of the China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, held every two years in the southern city of Zhuhai, along with fresh evidence of China’s military ambitions.
The latest orders for the 150-seat plane will boost the official total to 380, reaching the state-owned manufacturer’s declared breakeven point of 300 to 400 orders. However, Western analysts say it will be some time before the aircraft, due to make its maiden flight in 2014, proves its viability.
Photo: AFP
The C919 is designed to challenge Airbus SAS and Boeing Co in the largest segment of the US$100 billion annual jetliner market.
Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC, 中國商用飛機) yesterday said it would sign orders for 20 aircraft each with Joy Air and Hebei Aviation Group, confirming a Reuters report of buying interest from the two Chinese regional carriers.
Its only foreign customer, GECAS, a unit of General Electric Co which co-produces the engines, will buy 10 more, taking its total order for the plane to 20, COMAC said in a statement.
Photo: Reuters
Other potential C919 customers that have already signed tentative agreements include Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair and British Airways, COMAC said.
COMAC also confirmed it would sign a provisional agreement with investors representing Eastern Air Lines, which went bankrupt in 1991. There have been sporadic reports of efforts to relaunch the airline, whose forked logo was seen on display as a backdrop to the signing ceremony due later yesterday.
Once led by former World War I ace Eddie Rickenbacker and later by former Apollo astronaut Frank Borman, Miami-based Eastern Air Lines rose to become one of the largest airlines in the world before losing a battle against low-cost competition.
The air show — attended by a record 650 exhibitors — also featured prototypes of a new Chinese business aircraft and a model of a new stealth fighter China hopes to build for export.
Industry publication Aviation Week noted the model bore a “striking resemblance” to an aircraft recently photographed flying from the Shenyang Aircraft factory, which captured worldwide interest from military analysts and publications.
Separately, Airbus said it expects to build the planned A320neo jet in China, as the planemaker holds discussions about extending the life of its first assembly line outside Europe.
The company is in talks with partners about operating the Tianjin, China, facility through 2025, Airbus’ China head Laurence Barron said yesterday at a press briefing. The factory already makes the current A320 model.
“We can expect to see the neo being assembled here in China in the near future,” Barron said.
The aircraft is due to enter service in 2015. Airbus also builds A320s in France and Germany, and is planning to open a factory in Alabama in the US.
Barron also said the EU’s decision to suspend the introduction of emissions levies on foreign carriers is positive for Airbus in China. The country had been among nations opposing the EU plan because of sovereignty and cost concerns.
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
ADVERSARIES: The new list includes 11 entities in China and one in Taiwan, which is a local branch of Chinese cloud computing firm Inspur Group The US added dozens of entities to a trade blacklist on Tuesday, the US Department of Commerce said, in part to disrupt Beijing’s artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced computing capabilities. The action affects 80 entities from countries including China, the United Arab Emirates and Iran, with the commerce department citing their “activities contrary to US national security and foreign policy.” Those added to the “entity list” are restricted from obtaining US items and technologies without government authorization. “We will not allow adversaries to exploit American technology to bolster their own militaries and threaten American lives,” US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said. The entities
Minister of Finance Chuang Tsui-yun (莊翠雲) yesterday told lawmakers that she “would not speculate,” but a “response plan” has been prepared in case Taiwan is targeted by US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, which are to be announced on Wednesday next week. The Trump administration, including US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, has said that much of the proposed reciprocal tariffs would focus on the 15 countries that have the highest trade surpluses with the US. Bessent has referred to those countries as the “dirty 15,” but has not named them. Last year, Taiwan’s US$73.9 billion trade surplus with the US
RSS