The Boeing 737 MAX family of airliners has been grounded in many countries and regions around the world due to two fatal air crashes in a row, including 171 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft ordered by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). However, just as Boeing was facing an unprecedented security crisis, it unexpectedly reaped a large order. India's newly formed low-cost airline Akasa Airlines announced at the India Wings airshow that it will order 150 aircraft from Boeing, including the Boeing 737 MAX 10 and 737 MAX 8-200 models, but not the grounded MAX 9 version. This is the first order for the Boeing 737 MAX family of airliners since the accident and a major vote of confidence in Boeing by the Indian aviation industry.
India's aviation industry has great potential for growth, but it also faces serious challenges. India's population is the size of China's, but its total civil aviation fleet is only 800-900 aircraft, less than a quarter of China's. Indians' demand for air travel is growing rapidly, but India's airport construction and airplanes** are far from keeping up. In order to alleviate this contradiction, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made the development of the civil aviation industry one of the national strategies, planning to open about 80 new airports in the next five years, while vigorously introducing foreign aircraft manufacturers. According to statistics, India's airlines have purchased 370 Boeing passenger planes in the second half of 2023, accounting for nearly one-third of Boeing's global orders.
India's preference for Boeing may be related to its technical cooperation with Boeing. In January this year, Boeing officially inaugurated its Aircraft Engineering Technology Center in Bangalore, India, which is Boeing's second engineering center in India and one of the largest in Asia. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the ceremony that it would soon be possible to see Boeing designing and manufacturing new aircraft in India. Boeing also said it will work with partners in India to develop innovative aviation solutions to support India's aviation industry.
However, Boeing's presence in India has also sparked dissatisfaction in China. China is another important market for Boeing, but due to quality issues with the Boeing 737 Max, China grounded the model back in 2019 and has not been restored. China's Civil Aviation Administration has also said that the requirements for the Boeing 737 MAX to regain its airworthiness certificate are very high, and the safety and reliability of the aircraft need to be guaranteed. In this context, China's domestically produced large aircraft C919 began to emerge as the third option after Boeing and Airbus. The C919 is a single-aisle, narrow-body mainline airliner in the same class as the Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus A320 Neo, but with more advantages. It is reported that the price of C919 is 10.8 billion US dollars, while the Boeing 737 MAX 9 is priced at 1$2.4 billion, the Airbus A320 Neo is also priced at $1About $200 million.
The C919 is now in commercial use, which is a major milestone for China's civil aviation industry. On the one hand, this means that China has the ability to seize a share of the trillion-dollar annual aircraft market, which is of great significance for China's economic development and technological innovation. On the other hand, it also shows that China has moved away from its dependence on the West in the field of aviation, is no longer at the mercy of others, and will not be sanctioned and blocked. China's C919 has already received several orders at home and abroad, and is expected to enter the international market in the next few years, competing with Boeing and Airbus.
China-US relations are the focus of global attention, especially under the influence of factors such as the war and the epidemic, the friction and conflict between the two countries continue to escalate. Recently, however, China and the United States have also shown some signs of relaxation, and through many exchanges and meetings, they have had frank and in-depth communication on some major issues. Recently, China has also expressed its willingness to maintain stable relations with the United States with concrete actions. According to data released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture**, China bought 2970,000 mt of U.S. soybeans to be delivered in MY 2023 2024. This is part of China's implementation of the first phase of the agreement, and it is also a kind of goodwill of China towards the United States.
In the context of the United States' intention to completely ban Chinese batteries, China has begun to import a large number of American soybeans, which is a bit confusing. But if we look at it from a long-term perspective, there are also strategic considerations for China to do so. On the one hand, China can use U.S. soybeans to ensure domestic food security and animal husbandry development, and at the same time, it can also promote the transformation and upgrading of the domestic soybean processing industry. On the other hand, China can also use this to alleviate the imbalance between China and the United States, increase U.S. export revenues, and thus reduce U.S. hostility and pressure on China. With the deepening of agricultural cooperation between China and the United States, the economic and trade relations between the two countries are expected to improve and develop.
To sum up, the safety crisis of Boeing airliners, the development needs of India's aviation industry, the rise of COMAC, and the easing of Sino-US relations are all important topics in the current international aviation field, and they are also important factors affecting the global economic and political landscape. In this context, airlines and aircraft manufacturers in various countries need to formulate reasonable strategies and tactics according to their own strengths and weaknesses to respond to the changing market and environment and achieve sustainable development and competition.