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China’s COMAC C919 may soon secure its first international customer, as AirAsia has confirmed it is in talks to purchase the aircraft. The C919, a narrowbody twinjet developed by Chinese manufacturer COMAC, is currently operated only by airlines within China but aims to compete with established models such as the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737.
Tony Fernandes, CEO of AirAsia, announced at the Belt and Road Summit in Hong Kong that his airline is "in active discussions to buy the C919." He further stated that AirAsia would be "the first foreign airline to be working with COMAC" on this kind of agreement. While details about the potential order size have not been released, Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke commented on the significance of a foreign airline operating the C919: "The moment you have a foreign airline flying your plane, the confidence will go up, and you are becoming an international player. Even if you get 10 planes flown by a foreign airline, you’ll make a lot of difference, because that is a recognition of the safety and the reliability of the aircraft."
Fernandes also told attendees at an event organized by Maycham that conversion training for AirAsia’s existing Airbus pilots to fly the C919 could take as little as one day. This detail is notable given AirAsia’s current fleet consists solely of narrowbody aircraft from Airbus. Although no official order has been placed yet, Fernandes expressed optimism regarding delivery timelines: deliveries could begin "sooner than we all imagine." He also remarked that "most of the West is not taking the COMAC aircraft seriously," except for one notable exception.
