New geopolitics of the airline industry

Back in the 1980s, two aircraft manufacturers were perfectly well known in Mexico: Boeing and McDonell Douglas. The first was the manufacturer, among others, of the B727 planes owned by Mexicana de Aviación; the other from Aeroméxico’s DC-9. For both, Douglas offered the fabulous DC-10.

That was the moment of the irruption in Latin America of the Airbus aircraft, which began to be sold cautiously at first and would end up covering more than 60% of the region’s market. The second country where an Airbus was sold was precisely Mexico and it went to LaTur, the charter flight company of the Trade Union Association of Aviator Pilots (ASPA).

Over the years, Airbus would grow to become one of the two giant aircraft manufacturers in the world. Boeing would end up buying Douglas and from then on only these two great giants remained who, in an interesting move that has greatly benefited the operators, decided to invest, each one on their own, in smaller assemblers that would increase their offer of aircraft for cover the almost complete spectrum of commercial aviation.

Just yesterday, however, a new page began to be written in the history of aircraft manufacturers in the world. COMAC, the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, began precisely yesterday, September 19 (0919), the certification of its C-919 model, which will compete directly with the single-aisle aircraft of the Airbus A-320 family and the B -737 from Boeing, which today have in their hands the mid-range passenger market, the most popular of all.

The announcement that the C-919 will already be certified by the Chinese aeronautical authority is the official signal to start its mass production, which, in principle, will be absorbed by the airlines of that country, but no one doubts that it will soon begin its foray around the world.

In the first instance, and this is essential at this time, in the Russian market. The experience of commercial aviation with the blockade after the invasion of Ukraine has been traumatic. Not only for Russia but for the rest of the world: manufacturers, lessors, insurers, training and maintenance centers.

Nearly 900 Western-made aircraft remained in the limbo of the blockade because they are operated by Russian airlines, which do not pay – nor can they – leases, insurance, maintenance and others. On the other hand, even Russian airspace is avoided by aircraft that must make endless detours to connect the Far East with Europe.

For China, this area of ​​the planet will be its first market and it is not remote that this third actor, C, will soon be disputing primacy with A and B. It will undoubtedly take a few years, but the technology that China managed to obtain from manufacturers Westerners has helped him to have a privileged position.

Let us not rule out that Russia itself will once again attempt a more thorough development of its aircraft industry. The Sukhoi 100 experiment in the West was not the best, but it seems that many improvements have been made to it that for now serve to solve some of its most serious problems. We’ll see.

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