China, Russia eye large jets by 2027

Venture will develop massive 280-seat aircraft that can fly about 12,000km

China and Russia teamed up to develop twin-aisle jets that will compete with Airbus and Boeing Co, the planemakers who dominate passenger aircraft capable of trans-continental flights.

State-owned Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd and Russia’s United Aircraft Corp aim to hand over the plane to customers by 2025-2027, UAC Chairman Yury Slyusar said at a briefing in Shanghai yesterday.

The new plane will need “billions of US dollars” in investment, he said.

The venture will develop a 280-seat aircraft that can fly about 12,000 kilometres, or more than the distance between London and Singapore.

Earlier this month, Comac’s C919, China’s first modern passenger jet, took off on its maiden test flight from Shanghai as the nation tries to break into the near-duopoly of Airbus and Boeing in the market for planes with more than 100 seats. President Xi Jinping’s “Made in China 2025” programme has identified aerospace among sectors that could help turn the country into an advanced economy.

The large jet’s research and development will be in Moscow while assembly will be in Shanghai, Comac Chairman Jin Zhuanglong said. The companies will seek out an engine supplier for the programme and tenders will be sent by the end of the year and for components next year, said Guo Bozhi, an assistant president at Comac in charge of the project.

The China-Russia 280-seat plane will compete against models including Airbus’s A330 and Boeing’s 777, twinaisle aircraft that are mostly used for trans-continental flights. Cheaper costs will be one of the advantages of the new plane, Guo said.