Ryanair willing to buy 400 aircraft from Chinese firm

From the Irish Independent (always seen as close to Ryanair in media circles):

http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/ryanair-willing-to-buy-400-aircraft-from-chinese-firm-2802358.html

Comac's demo mock-up simulator (C919) was at the Paris Air Show in Paris, France, June 20, 2011
Comac plans to launch the first flight of C919 in 2014 and get airworthiness certification then enter into service by 2016.

Airworthiness certification - If it passes it can fly, cheaper aircraft will attract business's .. as long as the safety aspect is as good as any other aircraft in operation there may be new competition.

I am sorry, bad news as china is not that good in quality. Engine and avionics would be western but what about the whole rest? Sukhoi superjet was not an option?I would prefer good russian planes with good maintenance rather than chinese half copies of airbus or boeing

j2op wrote:I am sorry, bad news as china is not that good in quality. Engine and avionics would be western but what about the whole rest? Sukhoi superjet was not an option?I would prefer good russian planes with good maintenance rather than chinese half copies of airbus or boeing

Completely agree with the first part of your post, China do quantity over quality. It's no coincidence Ryanair's latest deal with Boeing is coming to an end and FR are just using a new naive manafacturer to help them get a better deal with Boeing. If they do become a 2 type of aircraft airline it would be Boeing and Airbus. Russian planes tend to fall out of the sky on average once a year, last crash only being last week where over 40 people died.

I am sure MOL will have Boeing and Airbus looking for his custom in the near future and with MOL suggesting the possible deal with comac he might just get aircraft for the price he wants.

I don't agree about your vision about russian planes.
It's true just one tupolev missed the airstrip. But what about the 737's fallen?How many 737 felt in this years?even up to date models. as 737-700 800 900.
The last tu154 of the polish government was an excellent workhorse, and crashed because the airport was not that prepared for bad weather. There are a lot of examples of reliable russian made planes. their big problem is fuel consumption, problem that could be resolved with western engines (for example il 86 and il 96)

The problem for Ryanair is that both Airbus and Boeing are up to their necks in orders. They really do not have to be that aggressive in offering deals. On short haul Airbus are up the walls with orders for the A320neo and Boeing will likely launch a 737 successor by year end. The problem for Ryanair is that both manufacturers hold all the aces and will only take the orders offering the greatest profit margin i.e. highest price per unit.

The American Airlines deal has smoked out Boeing on what it is doing with the 737. They are now going for a simple re-engineering with the Leap X engine which should provide 12-15% greater fuel efficiency. However, even this minimal approach requires changes to the fuselage with 8 inches alone to be added to the nose because of the more powerful engine and more room on the undercarriage for the engine to clear runway lights.

The 460 aircraft deal confirms that neither Airbus or Boeing have any spare capacity for years to come and do not have to give big discounts to the likes of Ryanair as a result. American Airlines have stated that the reason the deal was split between Boeing and Airbus was because neither one could fulfill the deal on their own.

Ryanair could be forced into the Comac deal purely for reasons of there being nowhere else being able to meet their demands.

Flight Global article.
http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2011/07/22/359693/are-ryanair-comac-talks-just-clever-stunt-or-genuine.html

Michael O'Leary :

In June we signed an MOU with COMAC, the Chinese aircraft manufacturer, to enter discussions on a new 200 seater shorthaul aircraft for Ryanair that should be available from 2018. We believe this aircraft will be a real alternative to the existing duopoly of Boeing and Airbus. Real competition in the aircraft manufacturing industry will deliver more choice and lower costs for airlines. We also believe that it will make economic sense for Ryanair to become a 2 aircraft operator if the present Boeing fleet economies can be matched or improved by another aircraft manufacturer.

http://www.ryanair.com/ie/news/ryanair-announces-q1-net-profit-of-139m-euro