Shanghai

China and Russia teamed up to develop twin-aisle jets that will compete with Airbus SE 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 Monday. 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 (7,500 miles), 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, twin-aisle aircraft that are mostly used for trans-continental flights. Cheaper costs will be one of the advantages of the new plane, Guo said.

BOX - China’s Hainan Airlines to buy 19 Boeing jets for $4.2b

SHANGHAI

China’s Hainan Airlines, which has poured billions of dollars into overseas acquisitions, announced plans Monday to buy 19 Boeing aircraft for $4.2 billion (Dh15.4 billion) to help meet skyrocketing travel demand by Chinese consumers.

The company said in a statement to Shanghai’s stock exchange that it would buy 13 Boeing 787-9 passenger jets and six 737-8s, citing the continued “rapid growth” in China’s travel market as incomes rise.

It plans to issue 15 billion yuan ($2.18 billion) in bonds to help fund the deal.

Chinese airlines have seen booming business in recent years, rushing to expand their fleets and route networks amid growth that the International Air Transport Association (IATA) predicts will take China past the United States to become the world’s largest air-travel market by 2024.

Hainan Airlines and its parent HNA Group have been among the most acquisitive players in a wave of overseas investments by Chinese companies in recent years. HNA is a sprawling conglomerate with interests in aviation and tourism.

-AFP