FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
2002
2002 - 3175.PDF
Chinese industry been offered, the government is widely believed to be seeking to prevent Chinese airlines from purchasing large numbers of foreign-built regional jets until an indige nously developed alternative becomes available, or Western suppliers award more substantial production contracts to their Chinese counterparts. This is despite the fact that VAT is also theoretically applica ble to Chinese-built aircraft such as the Xian Aircraft (XAC) MA60. The taxes, which some observers believe contravene the "spirit" if not the letter of WTO trade rules, have made it all but impossible for Bombardier and Embraer to sell their products in China. Models falling below the 25,000kg threshold include the Bombardier CRJ 200, 700 and 900, Embraer ERJ-135, -140, -145 and 170, and Fairchild 328JET and 728. As a result, regional jet builders are negotiating to place more work with Chinese conglomerates China Aviation Industry (AVIC) I and II in the hope that Beijing will soften its stance on the issue. Chinese industry sources say Beijing realises its policy "may have to change, and is internally evaluating how quickly". The Civil Aviation Administration of China began encouraging airlines about three years ago to embrace regional jets to help develop the country's air transport system as a hub-and-spoke network. However, China Southern and Wuhan Airlines are still awaiting clearance for their ERJ-145 orders and China Eastern wants to finalise its deal for CRJs. Meanwhile, two indigenous Chinese regional jet programmes are under way: AVIC I's ARJ21 79-99-seat aircraft family and AVIC II's study of a 30-50-seater. AVIC I has set up a dedicated programme company called AVIC I Commercial Aircraft Company (ACAC) to manage development of the ARJ21. ACAC groups together teams from AVIC I companies XAC, Shanghai Aircraft Industrial (SAIC) and others, which are working to achieve an ARJ21 first flight by 2006 and service entry a year later. The new company is to be formally unveiled at Airshow China 2002, which starts on 4 November in Zhuhai. The ARJ21 is being worked on primarily in Shanghai, where design and assembly will take place. Drawings released so far show the ARJ21 to be a rear-engined, T-tail aircraft, similar to the Boeing MD-80/90, a number of which were licence-assembled in China between 1985 and 2000. The latter project was shelved after a total of 35 MD-80s and a pair of MD-90s had been produced in Shanghai, primarily due to a lack of airline demand for the twinjets. Two versions of the ARJ21 are planned: the baseline 79-seater and a stretched 99- seat model. AVIC I was expected to narrow Licence assembly of MD-80/90S in China was shelved because of a lack of demand for the twinjet the engine choice to two candidates by the start of the Zhuhai air show. Under consideration for the engine con tract are General Electric's CF34-10A, Pratt & Whitney Canada's geared-fan PW800, Rolls-Royce's BR710 and Snecma's SM146. Antonov wooed Industry sources say Antonov is being recruited as a major partner to take respon sibility for the design and production of the aircraft's fuselage. The Ukrainian design bureau has signed several recent agree ments with Chinese industry, at least one of which is understood to concern regional jet production. A full-size ARJ21 cabin mock-upis to be displayed at Zhuhai. China's other state-owned aerospace giant, AVIC II, has separately been working on its own regional jet programme and recently selected Embraer as its partner. The tie-up has won government approval, but contracts have yet to be finalised as owner ship terms and other issues are still being discussed. If the venture goes ahead, the 50- seat ERJ-145 will be assembled under licence in Harbin in north-east China. Full details of the project are due to be announced at Zhuhai and the first aircraft could be rolled out as early as 18 months after a formal contract signing. To date, Embraer's only Chinese airline customer is Sichuan Airlines, which oper ates five ERJ-145s. Airbus, meanwhile, is expected to announce a new tranche of production contracts with Chinese suppliers at the Zhuhai air show, mostly relating to wing work. This will lead to complete A320 wing leading and trailing edges being produced in China. The long-term aim is full wing assembly, says Airbus. The European manufacturer's ambitious attempt to forge a regional jet manufactur ing joint venture with AVIC, together with Singapore Technologies Aerospace and Alenia of Italy, ended in 1998 after the partners failed to develop a viable business case. A subsequent agreement led to a group of AVIC I engineers participating in the A318 programme. "AVIC I engineers have participated in all areas of A318 design, including man agement in the development and certifica tion phase of the aircraft," says Airbus. Four Chinese factories, in Chengdu, www.flightinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 29 OCTOBER - 4 NOVEMBER 2002 43
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
