Upstart Chinese planemaker Comac is in talks with Saudi Arabia as it seeks to disrupt the Boeing-Airbus duopoly
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- Saudi Arabia and the Chinese planemaker Comac have been in discussions, Reuters reported.
- Comac aims to compete with Airbus and Boeing with its C919 narrowbody plane.
- Boeing's recent struggles could create more international opportunities for Comac.
Saudi officials are talking to China's planemaker Comac as the latter seeks to expand, Reuters reported.
The Comac C919 is a narrowbody plane that aims to compete with Airbus' A320neo and Boeing's 737 Max. It's China's first homegrown passenger jet, but so far, orders have only come from China and Southeast Asia.
Now, it looks like China is eyeing Saudi Arabia as the place to expand its market share and start competing with the two big Western planemakers.
According to Reuters, Dongfeng He, the chairman of Comac, visited Saudi Arabia for the first time this week. A Saudi delegation visited Comac's Shanghai facilities in February.
"Comac envisions enhancing global connectivity and diversity by contributing to Saudi Arabia's aviation transportation development," He told an aviation conference in Riyadh on Tuesday, per Reuters.
It comes after Saudi national carrier Saudia announced on Monday the biggest plane order in the kingdom's history. 105 Airbus jets, a mix of A320neo and A321neo models, will be distributed between the flag carrier and its subsidiary flyadeal.
The airline is owned by the Saudi government, and Saudia's chairman is also the transport minister. As part of its Vision 2030 plan to diversify its economy, aviation has been a focus to help promote tourism in the kingdom.
The Saudia deal appeared as a snub to Boeing, given that the US planemaker had previously won a big order from Riyadh Air — another state-owned airline set to launch in 2025.
Shortly before last November's Dubai Air Show, Bloomberg reported that Boeing was set to win another order from Riyadh Air for its narrowbody jets. However, that never materialized. CEO Tony Douglas blamed negative media coverage of delivery delays and technical problems.
With Boeing in crisis mode since January's Alaska Airlines blowout, carriers could be willing to look elsewhere. Plus, the backlog for Airbus commercial aircraft reached 8,626 at the end of March, leaving little room for more customers.
Earlier this month, the Brazilian planemaker Embraer denied The Wall Street Journal's report that it was working on a new narrowbody jet — capitalizing on Boeing's woes.