Today is a big day for China in terms of aviation. For finally the time has come to deliver the nation’s first domestically-produced passenger airliner to its launch customer. But is this indicative of the sun setting on the near monopoly enjoyed by Boeing and Airbus?
今天对于中国航空业来说是一个重要的日子。终于到了向其启动客户交付美国第一架国产客机的时候了。但这是否表明波音和空客近乎垄断的地位即将结束？
The first C919 was this morning delivered to China Eastern Airlines. But the project, beset by delays, has been fully 14 years in the making.
今天上午首架C919交付给中国东方航空公司。但该项目却一直拖延了整整 14 年。
Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Shanghai, the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) has more than 8,300 employees, who have been working ever since to vitalise China’s airline production capability and pose a threat to the dominance of its American and European rivals.
中国商用飞机有限责任公司（COMAC）成立于2008年，总部位于上海，拥有8,300多名员工，从那时起，他们就一直致力于振兴中国的航空生产能力，并对美国和欧洲竞争对手的主导地位构成威胁。
But the main problem for COMAC is the challenge to get airlines to move away from the tried and trusted. COMAC claims it has received 815 orders from 28 customers, but as industry-insider portal, ch-aviation.com, reported in October, its firm order book comprises only 188 units.
但中国商飞面临的主要问题是让航空公司摆脱久经考验和信任的挑战。中国商飞声称已收到来自 28 家客户的 815 架订单，但据业内人士门户网站 ch-aviation.com 10 月份报道，其确定订单仅包括 188 架。
China Eastern itself is only going to take five C919s, having signed a contract for the purchase of such on 1 March, 2021. Of the 37 aircraft that China Eastern Airlines plans to introduce in 2023, just four shall be C919-series aircraft.
东航本身只采购5架C919，并于2021年3月1日签署了采购合同。东航计划在2023年引进的37架飞机中，只有4架是C919系列飞机。
Of those, only one, this launch aircraft, will fly China Eastern colours; the remainder are to be operated by China Eastern subsidiary, OTT Airlines, formerly Easternjet until 2020.
其中，只有一架，即这架发射飞机，将悬挂东航的旗帜；其余航班将由中国东方航空子公司 OTT Airlines（前身为东方航空）运营至 2020 年。
The C919 isn’t even entirely Chinese.
C919甚至不完全是中国制造的。
The aircraft is in fact powered by CFM International LEAP-1C engines. Those are produced by a 50/50 joint venture between General Electric and Safran Aircraft Engines.
该飞机实际上由 CFM International LEAP-1C 发动机提供动力。这些产品由通用电气和赛峰飞机发动机公司 50/50 的合资企业生产。
It is thought to still be quite some time before China can domestically produce engines of sufficient quality to satisfy air worthiness, reliability and safety concerns.
人们认为，中国还需要相当长的一段时间才能在国内生产出足够质量的发动机来满足适航性、可靠性和安全性的要求。
The LEAP-1C was simultaneously awarded Type Certificates by both the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on 21 December, 2016.
LEAP-1C于2016年12月21日同时获得欧洲航空安全局（EASA）和美国联邦航空管理局（FAA）的型号合格证。
The choice of “C” as prefix for the aircraft type is thought by some to be indicative of the Comac, and indeed China’s, ambitions. In the minds of the dreamers, in an “ABC” scenario, “A” stands for Airbus, “B” for Being and “C” for COMAC.
一些人认为，选择“C”作为飞机型号的前缀表明了中国商飞，甚至是中国的雄心。在梦想家的心目中，在“ABC”场景中，“A”代表空客，“B”代表存在，“C”代表中国商飞。
Interestingly, the LEAP 1A engine can be found powering Airbus 320neo aircraft, while the LEAP 1B sits under the wings of some Boeing 737 MAX planes.
有趣的是，LEAP 1A 发动机为空客 320neo 飞机提供动力，而 LEAP 1B 则位于一些波音 737 MAX 飞机的机翼下。
The C919 may be intended to take on competition from the Boeing 737 and the Airbus 320, but more challengers await in the wings.
C919 的目的可能是与波音 737 和空客 320 展开竞争，但更多的挑战者正在等待着我们。
Brazil’s Embraer has long been known for its smaller, regional jets, but the airline producer has more recently added a larger family of aircraft, with credentials approaching those of the C919.
巴西航空工业公司长期以来一直以其小型支线飞机而闻名，但这家航空公司生产商最近又增加了一个更大的飞机系列，其资质接近 C919。
Embraer’s E195-E2, for example, can offer 146 seats in a single-class configuration. The C919, on the other hand, will typically carry 158-168 passengers.
例如，巴西航空工业公司的 E195-E2 在单舱配置中可提供 146 个座位。另一方面，C919 通常可搭载 158-168 名乘客。
Another comparison lies in the range. The C919 can fly for 2,500 nautical miles, while the Airbus 320neo manages 3,500. To put that in perspective, an Airbus 320neo could manage (just) the hop from Nanjing to Moscow, while the C919 could make it only as far as Delhi (with a bit of fuel to spare). As a result, the C919 is going to be largely left flying inter-Asia flights.
另一个比较在于范围。 C919 可以飞行 2,500 海里，而空客 320neo 可以飞行 3,500 海里。从长远来看，空客 320neo 只能完成从南京到莫斯科的飞行，而 C919 只能飞到德里（还有一点燃料）。因此，C919 将主要用于执飞亚洲间航班。
Then let’s not forget the price tag, where China is once again as opaque as possible. COMAC itself does not publish a price for the C919, but industry experts put it at between US$90 million and US$100 million per unit. While this is certainly quite a bit cheaper than its rivals (the A320neo is listed at US$111 million and the 737 MAX 8 at US$121 million), it’s almost double the US$50 million which was once supposedly a Unique Selling Point for the C919.
然后我们不要忘记价格标签，中国再次尽可能不透明。中国商飞本身并未公布C919的价格，但业内专家预计每架价格在9000万美元至1亿美元之间。虽然这肯定比其竞争对手便宜很多（A320neo 的售价为 1.11 亿美元，737 MAX 8 的售价为 1.21 亿美元），但它几乎是 C919 一度被认为是独特卖点的 5000 万美元的两倍。
With all else mostly fair and square, the big question remains will a saving of US$10-20 million per plane be sufficient to pull airlines away from Airbus and Boeing in the direction of China? So far, it appears not.
尽管其他一切都基本公平公正，但最大的问题仍然是每架飞机节省 10-2000 万美元是否足以让航空公司从空客和波音转向中国？到目前为止，似乎还没有。
