‘We are very serious’: AirAsia confirms negotiations for COMAC C919 narrowbody aircraft
September 12, 2025
Malaysia’s AirAsia is stepping up its engagement with China’s COMAC over the C919 aircraft, a move signalling both ambition and confidence as global interest in the jet builds.
The Southeast Asian low-cost carrier, through its parent group Capital A, has entered into formal talks about acquiring the C919, making strides toward becoming the first non-Chinese airline to operate the type.
“We’re in active discussions to buy the C919,” Tony Fernandes, CEO of Capital A, told the Belt and Road Summit in Hong Kong this week, as reported by SCMP. “Most of the West is not taking the COMAC aircraft seriously; I can tell you it’s a fantastic aircraft. We are very serious.”
While Fernandes declined to say when the deal would be done, he indicated Comac would “deliver aircraft sooner than we all imagine.”
While the C919’s capacity and range are a bit behind those of the Airbus A320neo – the backbone of AirAsia’s fleet – its potentially lower cost and growing technological maturity make it an enticing alternative.
AirAsia had been tipped to place a mega order for more Airbus narrowbodies at this year’s Paris Air Show. But the order never materialised.
Malaysia urges COMAC to step up marketing of the C919
Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke has publicly called for COMAC to be more aggressive in its global marketing and certification strategy.
Speaking at a Malaysian Chamber of Commerce Hong Kong and Macau (Maycham) event, Loke stressed that COMAC needed to break into the international market.
“The moment you have a foreign airline flying your plane, the confidence will go up, and you are becoming an international player,” Loke said, as reported by SCMP. “Even if you get 10 planes flown by a foreign airline, you’ll make a lot of difference, because that is a recognition of the safety and the reliability of the aircraft.”
So far, there has been limited interest in COMAC’s narrowbody challenge on the international market. Brunei’s Gallop Air signed a letter of intent in 2023 for 30 aircraft, but has not taken any deliveries yet.
Pakistan’s airline startup Air Karachi has been reported to be eyeing the type for its launch fleet, although it is also in negotiations with Airbus and Boeing.
In Brazil, TOTAL Linhas Aéreas has been investigating the C919, with CEO Paulo Almada Junior stating in 2024 that his company “will bring the aircraft to Brazil, becoming one of the first customers outside of China”. However, no confirmed order has been placed.
International hurdles for COMAC’s C919
The C919 has been certified in China since May 2023, with 18 aircraft delivered and in service with Chinese airlines. It has transported some 1.5 million passengers on domestic Chinese routes, with carriers including China Eastern, China Southern and Air China.
But to operate outside of China, the aircraft will require international certification. Certifications granted by CAAC don’t automatically translate into recognition by other regulators, and major bodies like the FAA and EASA will want to undertake their own certification process.
At EASA, executive director, Florian Guillermet, said in late April 2025 that European approval of the C919 is expected to take “three to six years,” ruling out certification in 2025.
The FAA hasn’t suggested any timeline or interest in certifying the C919, and COMAC has indicated it is not pursuing FAA certification.
This leaves COMAC free to sign deals, MOUs or even binding contracts with airlines outside of China, but the airlines will not be able to fly the jet in commercial service until their national regulator validates or recognises the C919’s type certificate.
That makes AirAsia’s interest symbolically important, but still conditional on certification progress.
