COMAC, UAC Reveal Wide-Body Plans

China’s COMAC and Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation have announced plans to build a large wide-body jet to compete with Boeing and Airbus.

The joint venture was unveiled at Airshow China in Zhuhai, where they displayed a model of the C929, a 280-seat twin-engined aircraft.

Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) and UAC are looking at a development period of seven years for the 12,000 km range jet. First delivery would be three years after that.

The aircraft, which would be a direct competitor of Airbus’s A330 and A350, and Boeing’s 777 and 787 models, is likely to be powered by GE or Rolls-Royce engines.