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COMAC's jetliner makes display flight at Dubai Airshow

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Company has ambitions of taking on Boeing ( BA ), Airbus

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Its two planes lack certifications from Western regulators

By Ahmed Elimam and Federico Maccioni

DUBAI, Nov 17 (Reuters) - China staged a Middle East

debut for its C919 jetliner with a flying display at the Dubai

Airshow on Monday, its first outside East Asia, as it showcases

plans to compete with Airbus and Boeing ( BA ).

The C919 aircraft, in a white livery with blue and green

details, took off at around 3:30 p.m. local time (1130 GMT) and

made a few circle rounds in the sky before landing safely on the

Al-Maktoum international airport runway tarmac.

Chinese planemaker COMAC has ambitions to take on dominant

Western manufacturers Airbus and Boeing ( BA ) as well

as their smaller Brazilian rival Embraer ( EMBJ ).

Its two existing plane models - the C909 and C919 - lack key

certifications from Western regulators, however, and COMAC is

looking for alternative markets to help boost its profile.

C919: CHINA'S ANSWER TO THE AIRBUS A321NEO, BOEING MAX 10

At the Airshow on Monday, dozens of people lined up to see

the C919 airplane parked at the venue alongside dozens of other

aircraft. A pilot sat in its cockpit talking to visitors about

his experience operating the plane.

COMAC is building plans for a family of aircraft.

At its stand in the airshow's main exhibition hall, visitors

took photos of a longer version of the C919 dubbed the Stretched

Variant, which COMAC said would seat 210 passengers and serve

the Asia-Pacific region.

The planned longer version takes aim at the Airbus A321neo

and Boeing's ( BA ) upcoming 737 MAX 10 - the top end of the

single-aisle market where Airbus and Boeing ( BA ) are battling for the

most hotly contested orders.

On the tarmac, COMAC also displayed its regional C909, which

was China's first jet-engine-powered plane to reach commercial

production and entered service in 2016.

Neither model has won a major global customer so far.

CHINA TARGETS LAST BASTION OF WESTERN MANUFACTURING

COMAC also displayed materials outlining its planned C929

wide-body jet - originally co-developed with Russia and now

driven solely by COMAC - but with scarce technical details.

COMAC officials declined to comment on the company's

presence at the airshow and said there were no media engagements

planned.

COMAC said in a statement that it "remains committed to open

cooperation and looks forward to building closer, stronger, and

deeper relationships with global customers and partners."

Gulf countries have strong ties with China, the biggest

trading partner for both Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which have

welcomed cooperation with Chinese firms in recent years,

including in manufacturing, construction and technology.

Analysts do not expect China to take a significant slice of

the global jet market beyond deals with supportive countries any

time soon but say its presence is a clear signal of its ambition

to penetrate one of the last bastions of Western manufacturing.

Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stephanie Pope welcomed the

arrival of COMAC at one of the world's premier industry events

but pledged to maintain an edge through continued innovation.

"Competition is great for the industry. It's great for

Boeing ( BA ). It makes us all better," she told Reuters.

(Additional reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Adam Jourdan

and Joe Bavier)