As C919 output falters, China’s Comac scrambles for Western engines amid global bottleneck
State-owned planemaker deploys teams to CFM – a joint venture between GE and Safran that makes the C919’s Leap-1C engine – as suppliers race to meet demand
The manufacturer of China’s home-grown passenger jets is ramping up efforts to secure Western-made engines as its aircraft production slumps and rivals race for scarce components amid a supply crunch afflicting the global aviation industry.
By dispatching teams to key overseas suppliers, the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) is seeking to smooth out communication and secure delivery of more Leap-1C engines, according to two people with knowledge of the trips.
And as the state-owned aerospace firm’s task forces pound the pavement to address the widespread engine shortage, suppliers and industry observers say relief may arrive next year if political tensions and capacity constraints ease.
In recent months, Comac personnel, including executives and technicians, shuttled between their Shanghai headquarters and an engine-production facility managed by CFM near Paris, the sources told the Post, adding that the Leap-1C was the focus of the discussions.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, they also said the visits had come after some partially completed airframes at Comac’s Shanghai plant were unable to be handed over to airlines in recent months while awaiting engines.
Jason Zheng, an analyst with Airwefly, a Shanghai-based aviation news portal and consultancy, said: “The unstable engine supply from the West remains Comac’s biggest vulnerability, likely resulting in its setback in increasing C919 output.”
While Chinese engineers work on domestic alternatives, the American-Franco high-bypass turbofan engine remains critical to powering the C919 as Comac tries to scale its production and chip away at a global monopoly held by Boeing and Airbus.