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Two companies, Boeing and Airbus, have dominated the aviation industry<\/a> for decades. But Boeing\u2019s recent struggles with safety<\/a> this year, as well as production shortages for both planemakers, could be pushing carriers to wonder whether it\u2019s time to change up the competitive landscape.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need more competition in the aerospace business,\u201d United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said on the Air Show Podcast, <\/em>according to aviation outlet The Air Current<\/a><\/em>. Kirby said his airline wasn\u2019t ready to splurge on planes from a non-Airbus, non-Boeing manufacturer just yet, but that it has \u201cjust started thinking\u201d about cultivating a new supplier.<\/p>\n Boeing is still grappling with fallout from early January, when the door plug of<\/a> a Boeing 737 Max 9, operated by Alaska Airlines, blew out midflight. That spurred closer scrutiny of Boeing\u2019s manufacturing processes. The company has slowed production of its planes, annoying carriers<\/a> who were expecting to receive Boeing jets this year.<\/p>\n Kirby has complained about Boeing\u2019s struggles before, calling<\/a> the 737 Max 9\u2019s temporary grounding in January, ordered by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, the \u201cstraw that broke the camel\u2019s back.\u201d<\/p>\n Boeing\u2019s competitor Airbus is also facing problems. Parts and labor shortages are reportedly<\/a> forcing the European planemaker to delay deliveries to carriers. Hundreds of Airbus 320neo jets will also need<\/a> to be grounded to replace faulty components in engines produced by supplier Pratt & Whitney.<\/p>\n But who might that third supplier be?<\/p>\n One possibility is COMAC and its C919 narrow-body jet, similar to Boeing\u2019s 737 and Airbus\u2019s A320. The Chinese state-owned manufacturer debuted the C919 at the Singapore Air Show earlier this year in its first international showing. <\/p>\n At the Fortune Innovation Forum earlier this year, Cathay Pacific CEO Ronald Lam suggested that the aviation world could be moving towards an \u201cABC market<\/a>\u201c: Airbus, Boeing and COMAC. The head of Hong Kong\u2019s flagship airline, which currently uses both Boeing and Airbus jets, suggested that such \u201ctriangular competition\u201d would be good for the industry.<\/p>\n Kirby, in his comments to the Air Show Podcast<\/em>, isn\u2019t quite so sure. \u201cIt\u2019s not inevitable, I think it\u2019s unlikely,\u201d he said, in response to a question about whether a third supplier will be Chinese. <\/p>\n So far, only China-based airlines have committed to purchasing the C919, though Saudi Arabian airlines have reportedly<\/a> expressed some interest in COMAC\u2019s work. The C919 still needs to be approved <\/a>by the European and U.S. regulators before it can operate commercially in those markets. <\/p>\n Even COMAC\u2019s regional jet, the ARJ21, which has been in commercial use since 2016, has yet to be approved by U.S. regulators. (A small Indonesian airline is the only non-Chinese carrier to use the ARJ21)<\/p>\n Instead, Kirby thinks a new challenger could be Brazil\u2019s Embraer.<\/p>\n Embraer is the industry\u2019s third-largest manufacturer behind Boeing and Airbus. The Brazilian company currently manufacturers smaller regional jets with a capacity of just under 100. Yet Embraer is exploring the possibility<\/a> of creating a next generation narrow-body jet, the Wall Street Journal <\/em>reported in May.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nCOMAC as a third supplier?<\/strong><\/h2>\n