The title of 3rd largest commercial aircraft manufacturer in the world, held by Embraer, is at risk of being lost to the Chinese company COMAC.
In 2024, the state-owned aircraft maker based in Shanghai delivered 50 commercial aircraft, more than double the previous year. As a result, COMAC fell 23 jets behind Embraer, which recorded a small increase compared to 2023.
The C919, a commercial aircraft that rivals the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737, jumped from two to 13 deliveries last year, six of them in the 4th quarter.
The ARJ21, a regional jet that has been renamed the C909, had another 37 deliveries, up 68% from 2023 – the numbers are estimates since COMAC does not disclose its results.
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Embraer, in turn, delivered more than 100 commercial aircraft per year until 2017, but has not been able to return to triple digits since then.
In 2024, the company delivered 73 commercial jets, nine more than in 2023 and 16 more than in 2022. The company has been experiencing the same issues as the big manufacturers, Airbus and Boeing, related to the supply chain.
COMAC ahead until May
Air Data News checked records from Planespotters that show that COMAC was ahead of Embraer until May, thanks to a stronger start to the year by the Chinese company.
There were 19 jets compared to Embraer’s 17 in the first five months, but the Brazilian planemaker increased deliveries and took off at the end of the year.
The difference, which was 11 planes until November, rose to 23 planes in December.
By model, the E195-E2 had 39 deliveries, followed by the C909/ARJ21, with 37 aircraft. The successful E175 had 26 planes delivered, while the C919, another 13, and the E190-E2, eight jets.
The competition is expected to intensify in the coming years
Despite the considerable gap in 2024, COMAC has everything it needs to approach and even surpass Embraer in deliveries. And the reason is simple: the Chinese state-owned company relies on the support of the country’s government to increase its production.
Furthermore, the country’s three main carriers (Air China, China Southern Airlines and China Eastern Airlines) are also controlled by the government and are preferred customers of COMAC aircraft.
They alone have more than 300 orders for the C919, in addition to dozens of other orders for the C909.
By 2025, COMAC has already projected a minimum target of delivering 30 C919s, but it may exceed this mark.
Embraer, in turn, has a good backlog, but should grow more slowly, possibly delivering more than 80 aircraft.
Unlike its Chinese rival, Embraer only has the explicit support of one of the three largest Brazilian airlines, Azul. The country’s government has encouraged Gol and LATAM to order the E2 jets, but so far no agreement has been reached.
