China Greater Bay Airlines recently announced its purchase of 15 Boeing 737-9 MAX aircraft and plans to buy other Boeing planes soon.
Instead of buying the China-made aircraft C919, which the Chinese State Media boasted as a “national pride,” Greater Bay Airlines have agreed to purchase passenger planes from the regime’s competitor, Boeing.
Outsiders questioned if it was related to the failure of the C919 test flight and the inability to stay safe while flying in the air.
On March 3, the new Greater Bay Area Airlines, established to cooperate with the Chinese Communist Party’s development strategy of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, held a signing ceremony with the American Boeing Company. The airline signed a procurement agreement to order 15 Boeing 737-9 MAX airliners.
The Greater Bay Area Airlines also planned to buy five 787 Dreamliners.
The Greater Bay Area Airlines told the media that the new planes would be delivered from 2024 to 2027. The Boeing 737-9 MAX would become the primary model of the airline’s future fleet.
Hong Kong Chief Secretary For Finance Paul Chan Mao-bo, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Yau Ying-Wah, and other Hong Kong government officials attended the purchase signing ceremony.
Reporters asked the airline’s representatives why it, as a Chinese-funded company, did not purchase China-made C919 planes instead of its competitor’s.
Bill Wong, president of the Greater Bay Area Airlines, said that he and Boeing Company have been dealing business for many years.
The founder said since Donghai Airlines uses Boeing 737 passenger planes, and after considering the Greater Bay Area Effect, Shenzhen and Hong Kong will also follow suit and use the same passenger aircraft for maintenance convenience and cost reduction.
Wong also told the reporters the 737-9 has far better carrying capacity and endurance, which helps reduce operating costs and expand the flight network, which brings better economic gains.
Wong said, “We have had a great relationship with Boeing for many years. Twenty models of Shenzhen Donghai Airlines are all Boeing 737-800. The remarkable cost-effectiveness and safety performance make Boeing a fuel-saving and comfortable aircraft.”
Wong then said that Greater Bay airlines would not rule out the possibility of using C919 airliners in the future, but its delivery capacity was not as robust as that of Boeing.
According to several Hong Kong media reports, the public was confused about why Greater Bay Airlines would buy American aircraft when the relationship between China and America continued to worsen.
Wong explained, “The customer who bought the new airplanes is from Hong Kong, and as Hong Kong is under One country. Two systems, politics are irrelevant to their business exchanges.”
Public data shows Greater Bay airlines opened four new routes to Bangkok, Taipei, Tokyo, and Seoul in July 2022. The airline also planned to add new flights to Osaka, Manila, the Philippines, Ho Chi Minh City, and Vietnam before April 2023.
The C919 is a large passenger plane of China’s first jet-powered regional airliner, developed per international aviation standards.
With a seat class of 158 to 168 and a range of 4075 to 5555 kilometers, C919 is comparable to the same class of Airbus 320 and Boeing 737 in the current international aviation market.
The Chinese Communist Party’s mouthpiece media once vigorously promoted the domestic airliner and called it a “national pride.”
However, in early February 2023, just a few days before a C919 flight testing, there were rumors that a malfunction caused a 100-hour verification flight plan call-off.
At the time, some insiders familiar with the incident disclosed to foreign media that a domestic C919 passenger plane purchased by China Eastern Airlines, B919A, had a suspected failure when the left engine reversed during a test flight between Shanghai Hongqiao Airport and Beijing Daxing Airport on Feb. 2.
China Eastern Airlines immediately canceled the rest of the verified flight plan and would not mention anything related to the allegedly failed test or the purchase of C919.
Professional insiders stated, as of now, flights of C919 have not hit commercial flying yet. But if the test flight were unsuccessful, commercial operations would not be possible soon.
The C919 aircraft has been in research and development for over a decade. It was also mentioned as a highly strategic product, regarded as a backup plan once Europe and the United States decoupled.
However, the insider revealed the industry is not optimistic about the fundamental safety of C919 amid the fear of an accident due to the aircraft being an adaptation of an assembly of various imported components.
The insider also shared that China Eastern Airlines is the only airline that dares to take over the C919. Everybody else will not get involved with the C919 aircraft.
