nCa Report
CR929
Russia and China have been working for years and now they are in a position to make their bid for grand entry into the world aviation market. Quite possibly, they are positioning their jet planes as an attractive alternative to the Boeing and Airbus airliners rather than an either-or kind of competition.
According to the specifications of the jets they have developed, they are eyeing the market for narrow-body planes and wide-body regional jets.
Both Russia and China have two jets of their own and one in a joint venture:
Russia:
- Irkut MC-21 (Rebranded as Yakovlev MC-21)
- Sukhoi Superjet 100 (Regional jet)
- CR929 ( also called C929 – Joint wide-body project with China under United Aircraft Corporation – UAC)
China:
- COMAC C919 (Narrow-body)
- COMAC ARJ21 (Regional jet)
- CR929 (Joint wide-body project with Russia)
ARJ21
Commercial Aircraft Comparison: Russian, Chinese, Boeing, and Airbus
Narrow-Body Aircraft
Regional Jets
| Aircraft | Country | Typical Passengers | Range (km) | Entry to Service | Approx. Price (USD millions) |
| Sukhoi Superjet 100 | Russia | 87–108 | 3,048 | 2011 | $50–55 |
| COMAC ARJ21 | China | 78–90 | 3,700 | 2016 | $38–40 |
| Embraer E190-E2 | Brazil | 96–114 | 5,278 | 2018 | $60–65 |
| Airbus A220-300 | EU/Canada | 120–150 | 6,112 | 2016 | $90–95 |
Wide-Body Aircraft (In Development)
| Aircraft | Country | Projected Passengers | Range (km) | Projected Entry | Approx. Price (USD millions) |
| CR929 | Russia/China | 250–320 | 12,000 | 2028–2029 (delayed) | $200–250 (estimated) |
| Boeing 787-9 | USA | 290–330 | 13,950 | In service | $290–300 |
| Airbus A350-900 | EU | 300–350 | 15,000 | In service | $310–320 |
Note: Prices vary by specifications, discounts, and customer agreements. Russian and Chinese aircraft are often priced competitively to attract early customers.
The actual entry into the global aviation market would not be easy.
The western aviation regulators such as FAA (USA) and EASA (EU) would make them jump through lots of hoops, both as safety concerns as well as a number of things not even remotely related to safety.
MC 21
The availability of financing and spare parts would not be a major issue as both Russia and China have the capacity to finance and produce everything from their own sources and expertise.
Instead, for foreign buyers, an important question would be the ability and capacity of Russia and China to provide training, back up support and other guarantees to the airlines that agree to induct their jets.
C919
To make their jets instantly attractive, Russia and China would need to come up with their own lend-lease, and soft loan options to the potential buyers.
Their priority should be to tap into their own domestic markets that are quite large, and make their bid to the friendly countries that could be willing to trust their technology.
Superjet 100
They would also need to speed up the development of CR929, the joint Russian-Chinese wide-body airplane.
The expansion of choice would certainly be a welcome addition to the world aviation market. It would also be a boon to the passengers as the airfares may come slightly down because of comparatively cheaper jets in the market. /// nCa, 14 April 2025