China, Russia take on Airbus, Boeing

With the development of the CR929 plane, China and Russia hope to break into a lucrative market for commercial wide-body airliners currently dominated by Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 jets

CR929: Developed by China-Russia Commercial Aircraft International Corporation (CRAIC)

Nine abreast

Programme cost: $13-20bn

Engines: Plane to be initially powered by General Electric’s GEnX or Rolls Royce’s Trent 7000 engines – eventually replaced by Sino-Russian engine currently under development

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CR929 COMPARED WITH MAIN COMPETITORS

BOEING 787-9
Passengers 290
Cabin width 5.49m
Range 14,140km 
60.17m
63.0m
Into service Aug 2014 
Unit cost $281.6m

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AIRBUS A350-900
Passengers 314
Cabin width 5.61m
Range 15,000km 
64.75m
66.8m
Into service Jan 2015 
Unit cost $317.4m

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CRAIC CR929-600
Passengers 280
Cabin width 5.92m
Range 12,000km 
63.25m
63.8m
Into service Late 2020s 
Unit cost Not known


CRAIC aims to take 10% of wide-body market. Boeing forecast airlines worldwide would need 9,100 wide-body planes from 2016 to 2035, with wave of replacement demand around 2021-2028


Sources: Flightglobal, Aviationweek, Boeing, Airbus, Reuters © GRAPHIC NEWS