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By Scott Hamilton
Jan. 15, 2026, © Leeham News: COMAC had a rough year in 2025. It’s unlikely that this year will be much better.
COMAC is China’s state-owned commercial aerospace company. It builds the C909 regional jet (formerly known as the AVIC ARJ21; AVIC is now part of COMAC). The C909 is a Douglas DC-9-10 look-alike with GE CF-34 engines, the same powerplant that’s on the Mitsubishi CRJ and Embraer E1 E-Jets.
The C909 is not a particularly commercially competitive airplane to the CRJ or E1, but that wasn’t the point of the aircraft. The C909 is China’s truly first effort to establish a commercial jet airliner industry after a false start decades ago with the Y-10, a Boeing 707 clone. China developed turboprop airliners with limited success.
COMAC also builds the C919 mainline jet. The C919 is a competitor with the Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737-8. This jet is China’s next step in developing a commercial airliner industry. More than 1,000 orders have been placed. All but a handful are orders dictated by the central government to China’s airlines and lessors.
Nevertheless, an analysis of the backlog of the 125-240 seat single aisle sector gives the C919 about a 7% share. With China evolving eventually into the single largest global market, this captive market share is evolving into a force to be reckoned with.
COMAC hoped to deliver 75 C919s last year. Hurt by Western sanctions for China’s support of Russia in the Ukraine War and by trade sanctions imposed by the Trump and Biden administrations, COMAC reduced the delivery forecast to 25. In reality, C919 deliveries last year fell to about 13, the same as in 2024. COMAC outlined its production goals in March; they are unrealistic.
