As Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC) seeks to deepen its global footprint, industry analysts say specialized aircraft could offer a more practical route into overseas markets than competing directly for commercial passenger aircraft orders.
That strategy was on display from Thursday to Saturday, when the Chinese aircraft manufacturer made its debut at the 21st Kazakhstan-China Commodity Exhibition in Almaty, showcasing a C909 medical aircraft in its first appearance in Central Asia, alongside a scale model of the C909 firefighting plane.
The exhibition highlighted COMAC's efforts to broaden the C909's overseas applications beyond passenger transport. While the regional jet has gradually expanded commercial services in Indonesia, Laos and Vietnam, the company has also developed business jet, cargo, medical, firefighting and emergency-command variants to create new export opportunities.
"Special-mission aircraft face lower competitive barriers to overseas markets than passenger aircraft and have the potential to become an important entry point for COMAC's international expansion," said Zhu Keli, founding director of the China Institute of New Economy.
The Kazakhstan appearance came less than a week after the C909, formerly known as the ARJ21, marked a decade of commercial operations. Since entering service in 2016, the aircraft has carried more than 37 million passenger trips, with 186 aircraft delivered to more than 10 customers, accounting for about 70 percent of China's regional jet fleet, according to COMAC.
