Aircraft-Maker Hires Industry Veteran to Boost Sales of China-Made Jet

Aircraft-maker COMAC has brought in an executive with nearly 30 years of experience in the aviation sector, a move analysts said is aimed at shoring up effort to increase customer orders for the first Chinese-made narrow-body jet.

Tan Wangeng, 54, an outgoing general manager at Guangzhou-based China Southern Airlines, has been appointed a deputy general manager of Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China Ltd. (COMAC), the manufacturer announced Monday.

Tan’s new role comes at a critical time, as COMAC is pushing to enlarge its customer base for the C919 jetliner. Industry analysts said the appointment of an executive from an existing airline operator will help COMAC better understand costumer needs.

China has been plowing billions of dollars into developing its own jetliners to rival Boeing Co. and Airbus SE, which form a duopoly in the sector. COMAC is touted as a source of national pride with its development of the C919, which made its maiden flight early last year. The plane is designed to rival the Boeing 737 and the Airbus A320.

COMAC said it has received more than 800 orders for the C919 from costumers globally so far, though most are less-well-known smaller carriers.

Tan held several positions at the industry regulator, the Civil Aviation Administration of China, before joining China Southern in 2006. He was appointed the airline’s general manager in December 2016.

China Southern is the largest operator by the number of passengers among the country’s “big-three” state-owned carriers. The other two are Beijing-based Air China and Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines.

Contact reporter Mo Yelin (yelinmo@caixin.com)