Category Archives: COMAC

Boeing and China finalize agreements for 300 China orders and commitments, Boeing and COMAC to partner on 737 completion and delivery center in China

Boeing (Chicago, Seattle and Charleston) yesterday (September 23) welcomed China President Xi Jinping to its widebody commercial airplane factory and announced several significant agreements that will broaden and deepen cooperation between Boeing and China.

The company issued this statement:

The agreements include orders and commitments for 300 Boeing narrowbody and widebody aircraft and expanded collaboration between Boeing and China’s commercial aviation industry.

Together, Boeing and China committed to further advance development of China’s commercial aviation industry and meet strategic business objectives for Boeing in the world’s largest airplane market going forward.

President Xi, accompanied by Boeing executives, viewed final assembly lines for the 787 Dreamliner, 777 and 747-8, as well as aircraft components made by Chinese aviation suppliers. The president also spoke with Boeing employees and the 787 chief pilot about their work on airplanes built for Chinese carriers.

Agreements announced include:

Boeing and National Development Reform Commission (NDRC)

Boeing and NDRC have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will advance their long-term strategic cooperation through several “Pillars of Partnership.” These pillars include:

Industrial cooperation

Continued development of a world-class aviation transportation system through deliveries to China of Boeing airplanes and services
Development of technologies to reduce aviation’s environmental impact and enhance sustainability
Leadership development and training for the next generation of leaders in China’s aviation industry
Continued cooperation to support the safety, efficiency and capacity of China’s air transport system
Orders and Commitments for Boeing Commercial Airplanes

Boeing and China Aviation Supplies Holding Company (CASC) have signed a General Terms Agreement related to the purchase of 300 airplanes. The package has a value of approximately $38 billion at list prices.

Aircraft orders and commitments include:

(240) airplanes for Chinese airlines, including (190) 737s and 50 widebody aircraft
(60) 737s for leasing companies ICBC and CDB Leasing

Orders are posted on Boeing’s Orders & Deliveries website after all contingencies are cleared.

737 Completion and Delivery Center in China

Boeing and Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd., (COMAC) will partner to open a facility in China for the interiors completion, paint and delivery of Boeing 737 aircraft to Chinese customers. The joint venture facility will significantly expand Boeing’s collaboration with China’s aviation industry while also enabling future production rate increases at Boeing’s 737 final assembly factory in Renton, Wash. This China-based facility will not reduce 737 Program employment in Washington State.

Boeing, COMAC and Chinese government officials are working toward a final business agreement and will announce the facility’s location and timing of first deliveries at a later date.

Boeing, now building a record 42 737s per month, will increase production to 47 airplanes per month in 2017 and 52 airplanes per month in 2018 to meet strong demand for the 737, the world’s most fuel-efficient single-aisle airplane.

Boeing and Aviation Industry Corp. of China (AVIC)

Boeing and Aviation Industry Corp. of China (AVIC) will broaden their long-term collaboration to support Boeing’s commercial airplane programs. In a framework agreement, the companies said they intend to further advance AVIC’s manufacturing capabilities by adding major component and assembly work packages; strengthening leadership; and developing AVIC’s broad aviation infrastructure and business practices, including supply chain management.

Further development of sustainable aviation biofuel

Under the framework of the MOU between Boeing and NDRC, Boeing and NDRC announced a new initiative to turn agricultural waste in China into sustainable aviation biofuel. Boeing will partner with NDRC to turn items from farms, such as corn cobs and wheat stalks, into sustainable jet fuel as a way to reduce aviation’s carbon emissions.

When produced sustainably, aviation biofuel reduces carbon emissions by 50 to 80 percent on a lifecycle basis compared to conventional petroleum jet fuel, according to studies by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Boeing has partnered with Chinese stakeholders to support development of China’s air transport system since President Richard Nixon arrived in Beijing on Air Force One, a Boeing 707, in 1972. Today, more than 50 percent of commercial jetliners operating in China are Boeing airplanes. Over the next 20 years, China will be Boeing’s largest commercial airplane market with a projected need for 6,330 new airplanes, worth an estimated $950 billion.

Image: Boeing.

Boeing and COMAC open a Chinese facility to transform “gutter oil” into aviation biofuel

Boeing (Chicago and Seattle) and Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) today (October 22) opened a demonstration facility that will turn waste cooking oil, commonly referred to as “gutter oil” in China, into sustainable aviation biofuel. The two companies estimate that 500 million gallons (1.8 billion liters) of biofuel could be made annually in China from used cooking oil.

Boeing and COMAC are sponsoring the facility, which is called the China-U.S. Aviation Biofuel Pilot Project. It will use a technology developed by Hangzhou Energy & Engineering Technology Co., Ltd. (HEET) to clean contaminants from waste oils and convert it into jet fuel at a rate of 160 gallons (650 liters) per day. The project’s goal is to assess the technical feasibility and cost of producing higher volumes of biofuel.

Sustainably produced biofuel, which reduces carbon emissions by 50 to 80 percent compared to petroleum through its lifecycle, is expected to play a key role in supporting aviation’s growth while meeting environmental goals. The Boeing Current Market Outlook has forecast that China will require more than 6,000 new airplanes by 2033 to meet fast-growing passenger demand for domestic and international air travel.

Boeing and COMAC have been collaborating since 2012 to support the growth of China’s commercial aviation industry. Their Boeing-COMAC Aviation Energy Conservation and Emissions Reductions Technology Center in Beijing works with Chinese universities and research institutions to expand knowledge in areas that improve aviation’s efficiency, such as aviation biofuel and air traffic management.

Biofuel produced by the China-U.S. Aviation Biofuel Pilot Project will meet international specifications approved in 2011 for jet fuel made from plant oils and animal fats. This type of biofuel has already been used for more than 1,600 commercial flights.

COMAC is also the builder of the new C919 jetliner.

In other news, Boeing yesterday (October 21) celebrated the groundbreaking of its new 777X Composite Wing Center at the Everett, Washington, campus. Permitting for the new 1-million-square-foot facility was completed approximately seven weeks earlier than anticipated, allowing for an accelerated start to construction.

Boeing is investing more than $1 billion in the Everett site for construction and outfitting of the new building.

Once completed, the facility located on the north side of the main final assembly building will help usher in composite wing fabrication for the company’s newest commercial jetliner and sustain thousands of local jobs for decades to come.

Completion of the new building, which is expected in May 2016, will require approximately 3.5 million hours of work. At its peak, there will be approximately 1,200 contract employees working on the project. By the numbers, the new building will require:

31,000 tons (28,000 metric tons) of steel
480 miles (770 kilometers) of electrical cable
80,000 linear feet (24,384 meters ) of process piping
530,000 cubic yards (405,210 cubic meters) of fill material
170,000 tons (154,000 metric tons) of concrete

To date, the 777X has accumulated 300 orders and commitments. Two models will comprise the 777X family – the 777-8X, with approximately 350 seats and a range capability of more than 9,300 nautical miles; and the 777-9X, with approximately 400 seats and a range of more than 8,200 nautical miles. The 777-8X competes directly with the Airbus A350-1000, while the 777-9X is in a class by itself, serving a market segment that no other airplane can. First delivery of the 777X is targeted for 2020.

COMAC and Bombardier sign a strategic definitive agreement on Phase II of Long-Term Collaboration

Bombardier (Montreal) today issued this statement:

Further to the Definitive Agreement (DA) signed on March 21, 2012 covering program commonalities between the C919 and CSeries aircraft and the Letter of Intent (LOI) signed on November 13, 2012 signaling the beginning of Phase II of their strategic collaboration, Bombardier and the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd (COMAC) wish to announce the signing of a DA covering four distinctive projects. The DA is to be executed as part of the second phase of the parties’ long-term collaboration on leveraging commonalities between theC919 and CSeries airliners.

The four initiatives COMAC and Bombardier will collaborate on are: 1) specific areas of the CSeries aircraft flight test activities pertaining to non-flying tasks, 2) implementing and maintaining the common items that were achieved as part of Phase I, 3) sales and marketing, and 4) certain areas of customer services related to training, technical publications and parts distribution.

The second phase of COMAC and Bombardier’s cooperation is expected to contribute further to enhancing the competitiveness of not only the C919 and CSeries aircraft programs, but also of both COMAC and Bombardier’s overall businesses, and will help with maximizing both parties’ cost savings and market shares, while allowing customers of the C919 and the CSeriescommercial airliners to realize cost benefits from the operation of both aircraft families.

Image: Bombardier.