By bizn_fun 
As well as expanding in Asia Pacific, Comac is also pursuing European certification, with regulators conducting test flights on its C919. This would allow it to sell to European carriers.
However, the road ahead remains long.
European certification could take until 2028 or even 2031, regulators say. Meanwhile, harmonising a mix of Chinese and Western parts, flight controls, and software also presents technical challenges for international orders.
Maintenance and repair infrastructure is another hurdle, as is pilot training – areas where manufacturers like Boeing and Airbus have had infrastructure and systems set up for decades.
And in Asia Pacific, Comac has some competition beyond Boeing and Airbus.
Brazil’s Embraer has carved out a foothold in the region with Singapore budget carrier Scoot, Virgin Australia and Japan’s All Nippon Airlines (ANA) placing orders for Embraer jets.
Meanwhile, Boeing and Airbus still have a strong presence at the Singapore Airshow and the region as a whole. Both manufacturers are signalling to local carriers that aircraft delivery delays, which have frustrated airlines for years, are beginning to improve.
“We are pleased to say that we might be seeing light at the end of tunnel,” Mike Szucs of Cebu Pacific said.
There are questions about Comac’s order numbers, too. It has previously said it has more than 1,000 C919 passenger plane orders to Chinese airlines, but only a dozen have been delivered so far.
And verifying these order numbers is difficult as Comac is a state-owned Chinese company not a publicly listed one like Boeing or Airbus.
Unless Comac can address some or all of these issues, Boeing and Airbus are likely to continue controlling the skies above Asia Pacific.