C919 Doubles In Price

China is in danger of pricing itself out of the market with its new C919 narrow body airliner according to The Straits Times. The Singapore publication is reporting the new plane will cost about $100 million, almost as much as the A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX which now dominate that market. China had hoped the plane would come in at about $50 million, giving it a big edge over the Western competitors. An A320neo is about $111 million and the MAX is about $117 million.

The publication arrived at the C919 cost by examining a filing by China Eastern Airlines to the Shanghai Stock Exchange in which it says it intends to raise the money to buy four of the Chinese-built aircraft. The four C919s are part of a spending spree by the airline that includes 24 Chinese ARJ21-700 regional jets, six Airbus A350s and four Boeing 787-900s.