- Comac rebranded its ARJ21 regional jet as the C909 to further challenge Airbus and Boeing.
- The C909’s closest competitors in size and range are the Brazilian-made Embraer E190-E2 and E195-E2.
- Embraer’s E2 family outperforms C909 in capacity and engine power but is more expensive to buy.
China’s state-owned planemaker, the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, better known as Comac, has rebranded its regional aircraft to better compete with Airbus, Boeing, and Embraer.
Given Boeing’s lack of a regional jet and Airbus’ A220’s unique market fit into regional or mainline operations, the newly rebranded C909 would most closely compete with Embraer’s E2 series.
The Brazilian company’s E190-E2 and larger E195-E2 were built as next-generation successors to Embraer’s classic E-Jets and first flew passengers in 2018 and 2019.
The jetliners are more expensive than Comac’s but outperform the C909 in size and power.
Embraer’s E195-E2 is the most popular
The E190-E2 has secured just 52 orders and delivered 25 to date, while the E195-E2 is proving more popular with 282 total orders and 110 delivered.
Comac has delivered about 150 C909s since its 2016 inaugural flight, mostly to Chinese airlines. Another 60 are on order, likely a sign of relief for the planemaker after securing very few C909 orders since 2021.
Comac is struggling to sell outside China. The US and Europe are likely far from certifying China’s homegrown aircraft, though it has found business with Indonesian airline TransNusa.
Despite Embraer’s higher order count, it has yet to sell its E2 family to US airlines due to pilot union contracts, nor to China despite both planes being certified in the country. Embraer’s presence at November’s airshow suggests it’s still vying for a piece of the Chinese market.
Embraer’s larger planes can carry more people
Comac data shows the C909 seats five abreast and can carry 78 passengers in two classes (or up to 97 in a high-density configuration). The plane is about 110 feet long.
China Southern Airlines, for example, configured 90 economy seats on its C909. Indonesian operator TransNusa has installed 95 coach seats.
By comparison, the E190-E2 and E195-E2 are larger at about 119 feet and 136 feet, respectively.
The E190 accommodates 97 people in three classes and up to 114 in a high-density economy cabin. The larger variant can carry 120 people in three classes and up to 146 people at max capacity.
However, the E2 seats are in a narrower 2×2 layout, which may be more claustrophobic for passengers than Comac’s five-abreast configuration.
Embraer has more powerful engines
Regional planes focus on short and medium-haul flights to connect to smaller markets. A longer range can give airlines more route flexibility, but one of Comac’s biggest disadvantages is power.
China’s C909 is equipped with two General Electric CF34-10A turbofan engines mounted to the back of the aircraft. Depending on the payload, they can propel the C909 between 1,382 and 2,300 miles — but the decades-old engines are less efficient than modern ones.
Embraer’s E190-E2 and E195-E2 jetliners use Pratt and Whitney’s better-performing PW1900G engines and can reach distances of up to about 3,280 miles and 3,450 miles, respectively.
Data from aviation analytics company Cirium shows the C909 is used primarily on domestic routes within China under 1,000 miles. TransNusa flies the jet on a longer 1,700-mile route between Guangzhou and the Indonesian city of Manado.
Airlines use the E2 family to reach further away destinations. Royal Jordanian Airlines, for example, flies both variants some 2,000 miles between Amman and Western Europe. Canada’s Porter Airlines has a six-hour E195-E2 flight between Toronto and Los Angeles.
The C909 may be cheaper than its Embraer rivals
Comac may have an advantage over Embraer in price.
Reuters reported that Hainan Airlines, one of the buyers of the C909 at the airshow, said the jet’s list price is $38 million. However, the carrier said the bulk order would be discounted, which is a common practice in passenger aircraft sales.
In 2018, the reported list price of the Embraer E190-E2 was about $61 million. In 2023, Embraer reported Porter Airlines’ 10-strong E195-E2 order was worth about $840 million, putting the aircraft at about $84 million per unit before any potential discount.
Like the C909, the E2 cost is likely lower as airlines negotiate prices. For example, Virgin Australia agreed to buy eight E190-E2 aircraft in August.
Cirium estimated the sale at about $300 million after discounts, or about $37.5 million each. That puts the reduced rate E190-E2 at about $37.5 million, meaning the smaller E2 variant is more expensive than the C909 — and the E195-E2 even more so.
