Boeing, Airbus, Bombardier and Sukhoi have all brought examples of their flagship jets to this year's Airshow China in Zhuhai.
Airbus is displaying its A350 test aircraft (MSN 002); Bombardier a CS300; Boeing a 787-9 in Hainan Airlines livery, and Sukhoi a Superjet 100 in Yamal Airlines livery.
Their appearance at the biennial event marks the show’s 20th anniversary since its inception in 1996.
Airframers have forecast that China’s demand for new commercial aircraft will be among the world’s greatest.
In September, Boeing raised its forecast for China's fleet to 6,810 over the next 20 years, making it the first trillion dollar aviation market.The figure compares to 6,330 aircraft from last year’s forecast.
Of the figure, 5,100 will new single-aisle aircraft, accounting for 75% of total new deliveries through 2035. China’s widebody fleet will meanwhile triple in size, requiring 1,560 new jets. Boeing also expects 870 of these to be in the 200-300 seat segment, and 630 in the 300-400 seat segment.
Airbus meanwhile expects to have more than 2,000 of its jets flying in China by 2020, up from 1,250 at present. China is already its largest market, generating about 20% of its annual production.
Flight Fleets Analyzer shows that Chinese carriers have ordered 32 A350s - 10 from Air China, 20 from China Eastern and two from Sichuan Airlines - with China Aviation Supplies holding a letter of intent for 10 of the type.
Bombardier also holds a letter of intent from Chinese lessor CDB Financial Leasing for 20 CS300s.
Hainan Airlines operates a fleet of 16 787s (10 787-8s, six -9s) and has another three -9s on order. A further operates 24 787s are operated by other Chinese carriers, with 53 still on order. Another 31 units are on letters of intent.
At present, no Chinese carriers operate or order have ordered the SSJ-100.
Sukhoi’s engineering staff have since completed the preliminary design review of the SSJ100-SV, a 22-seat stretch of the original, 98-seat regional jet launched in 2000. Sukhoi will be ready next year to officially launch the SSJ100-SV to the commercial market.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
