China to challenge Airbus and Boeing – Enders

Photo by Jordan Tan

Chinese aircraft manufacturers can break the dominance of Airbus and Boeing, according to EADS CEO Tom Enders.

Speaking at the European-Chinese conference in Hamburg this week, former Airbus chief Enders said that China had the necessary expertise to challenge the world’s biggest planemakers.

“The entry barriers to building large commercial aircraft are high but if one country has the financial and industrial wherewithals to join the exclusive Airbus-Boeing club, it’s China,” Enders said. “We (EADS) want to be part of this incredible success story, with growing investments into Chinese industry, but also into citizenship and China’s very talented and skilled people.”

Airbus currently operates a final assembly line in Tianjin, producing its A320 aircraft. Its dominance in the single-aisle market could come under threat however, from China’s state-backed planemaker COMAC, which is currently developing its C919 aircraft to compete with the A320 and Boeing 737. COMAC has so far taken orders for 380 C919s, which is due to enter service in 2016.

By Mark Elliott, 29 November 2012, Thursday 8:12 AM