• Ryanair's CEO said he was considering buying planes from China's Comac due to lower prices.
• A congressman warned Michael O'Leary not to do so, citing allegations of corporate espionage.
• However, O'Leary is said to have replied, threatening to cancel Boeing orders if tariffs raise prices.

The CEO of Europe's biggest airline is in a growing spat with a US congressman who warned him against buying any planes from China, as tariffs cause uncertainty in the aviation industry.

Several media outlets reported Thursday that Ryanair's Michael O'Leary threatened to cancel orders for new planes from Boeing if tariffs are levied on the jets.

It came two days after he was sent a letter by Raja Krishnamoorthi, the ranking member of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.

He said he was raising "strong concerns" about the Ryanair boss's comments in a March interview.

"The Chinese are basically building a fucking A320. So if it was cheap enough — 10 or 20% cheaper than an Airbus aircraft — then we'd order it," O'Leary told travel industry outlet Skift.

The Comac C919 is a narrow-body plane similar to the best-selling Airbus A320 and Boeing's 737. It has received over 1,000 orders, almost entirely from Chinese companies.

Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury believes Comac's rise could see the sector go "from a duopoly to a potential triopoly."

Ryanair is a budget carrier with hundreds of Boeing 737s, making it one of the American planemaker's biggest customers. It also operates smaller subsidiaries that fly Airbus jets.

However, Ryanair has kept its options open over concerns the European Union could impose tariffs on American products in response to Donald Trump's 10% levy.

Krishnamoorthi, the Democratic representative for Illinois's 8th congressional district, told the Irish airline it shouldn't do business with China.

He cited a Justice Department indictment from 2018 that accused 10 Chinese intelligence operatives of participating in a corporate espionage campaign to steal information about turbofan jet engines.

He also said "evidence indicates" Comac has received government subsidies, although Boeing and Airbus have also done so in the past.

The Ryanair boss appears to be holding firm, reportedly saying in his Thursday reply that he would look to alternative suppliers, including Comac.

Ryanair and the Democrats of the House Select Committee on the CCP did not reply to requests for comment sent by Business Insider.

While Comac would massively benefit from an order from a major aviation player like Ryanair, tariffs could be a make-or-break moment for the upstart manufacturer.

The C919 relies heavily on American-made parts, on which China has imposed tariffs of 125%.

However, a potential EU-US trade war could raise prices for planes from aviation's two main players, Airbus and Boeing.

Analysts at Barclays predicted that this "might well prove the catalyst to launch the competing Chinese C919 narrow body onto the international stage."

• A trade war between the US and Europe could see more airlines turn to China's Comac, analysts said.
• However, Comac also relies heavily on US parts that already face enormous tariffs.
• At the moment, Airbus looks set to benefit as China turns away Boeing deliveries.

China's new planemaker could find fortune or ruin depending on the future of Donald Trump's tariff plan.

Comac, officially the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, launched its C919 aircraft in 2023. The narrow-body jet is similar to an Airbus A320 or Boeing 737, and has competitors on their toes.

While Comac delivered just 13 such jets last year, all to Chinese airlines, it has a backlog of over 1,000 orders. Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury believes Comac's rise could see the sector go "from a duopoly to a potential triopoly."

Trump's tariffs are a pivotal moment for Comac. On the one hand, tariffs could widen the appeal of Chinese aircraft both domestically and abroad, but the C919 also relies on dozens of American parts.

A trade war between the homes of aviation's two major players, Boeing and the European planemaker Airbus, has the potential to open a lane for Comac.

Trump initially announced a 20% higher rate on all imports from the European Union but later halved that amid a 90-day pause.

Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian has said he would defer deliveries of any Airbus jets that are tariffed. Michael O'Leary, CEO of Ryanair, has said similar regarding Boeing planes.

While the pause staved off the bloc's plan for retaliatory tariffs, it isn't a closed case just yet.

Earlier this month, analysts at Barclays predicted that the possibility of tariffs on Airbus and Boeing aircraft "might well prove the catalyst to launch the competing Chinese C919 narrow body onto the international stage."

"Would Ryanair consider the C919 with fresh interest if the Max 10 deliveries are delayed and all Max deliveries are subject to tariffs?" the analysts added.

The Irish budget airline has a strong relationship with Boeing and only flies 737 jets. However, the airline group also operates subsidiaries that use Airbus planes.

O'Leary appears open to the idea of ordering the C919, too.

"The Chinese are basically building a fucking A320. So if it was cheap enough — 10 or 20% cheaper than an Airbus aircraft — then we'd order it," he told Skift in late March.

"I don't care who makes them, whether it's Boeing, Airbus, or Comac. As long as the price is right, we'd buy it," he added.

Comac relies heavily on parts from the US and Europe

However, Comac's pricing is under threat from tariffs because the C919 is heavily dependent on imports. Trump has imposed tariffs of 145% on Chinese goods, with retaliatory tariffs of 125% on US goods entering China.

According to analysts at Bank of America, the C919 has 48 major suppliers from the US, 26 from Europe, and just 14 from China.

"If China stops buying aircraft components from the US, the C919 program is halted or dead," they wrote in a report last week.

It looks like Chinese airlines won't have many alternatives, though. Flight tracking data has shown several Boeing 737 Max jets returning from China to the planemaker's Seattle home.

With planemakers facing huge backlogs, Boeing would not struggle to reallocate any aircraft turned away by Chinese airlines. The BofA analysts see India as a potential recipient. Malaysian Airlines' managing director also told a state news outlet that it's talking to Boeing about acquiring any such jets.

However, Boeing would be ceding huge ground to Airbus, which has a final assembly line in Tianjin. The European planemaker predicts China will be the world's biggest market for aviation services by 2043, accounting for 20% of all aircraft deliveries.

While Trump has criticized Boeing for delays to the new Air Force One project, it seems unlikely he would let one of the country's biggest exporters suffer much.

Aviation has already been one of the industries most affected by Trump's tariff plans.

A US-China trade war could ruin Comac but increase Airbus' dominance. Alternatively, more airlines around the world could look to the C919 if Airbus and Boeing both face tariffs in a US-EU trade war.

For now, it looks like Comac will struggle, but with Trump's tariff plans frequently changing, the Chinese planemaker's future remains uncertain.

• Aircraft manufacturing could go "from a duopoly to a potential triopoly," the Airbus CEO said.
• Guillaume Faury was asked about the prospect of China's Comac becoming a serious competitor.
• Comac is ramping up production of its C919 jet, similar to the A320 family and Boeing 737 Max.

The CEO of Airbus said Chinese aircraft manufacturer Comac could disrupt the dominance of his company and Boeing.

At a press conference on Thursday after announcing Airbus' annual results, Guillaume Faury said the sector could go "from a duopoly to a potential triopoly."

He was asked about Comac's plans to increase production of its C919 jet — a single-aisle aircraft similar to the best-selling Airbus A320 family and Boeing's 737 Max.

"Other aircraft manufacturers have tried to enter into this very competitive space in the past from other countries, not necessarily successfully, but I believe Comac is more likely to succeed," Faury said.

He pointed to its "privileged access" to the Chinese market, which he said accounted for a fifth of global aircraft demand.

Faury added that this will also "probably give them the room" to export to other countries "when the product is mature."

"They have to do a certain ramp-up first — in the current supply environment, ramp-up is not an easy task — but we take them seriously," the Airbus CEO said. "We consider this is one more competitor in this space."

Data from ch-aviation shows there are 13 Comac C919s in service, operated by Air China, China Southern, and China Eastern.

There are more than 1,000 planes on order, Comac chairman He Dongfeng said in 2023, Chinese media reported.

Comac has also held discussions with Saudi officials and Brazil's Total Linhas Aereas, Reuters reported.

The C919 is yet to be certified by regulators in the US or Europe. Comac hoped to win EU approval this year, Aviation Week reported last May.

Meanwhile, Airbus is planning to increase its A320-family production capacity in China. Faury said the planemaker hopes the second final assembly line at its Tianjin plant will come online this year.

Airbus reported a 6% increase in revenue for 2024 of 69.2 billion euros ($72.2 billion). Earnings per share rose 12% to 5.36 euros ($5.60).

Its consolidated order book valued at 629 billion euros at the end of 2024, up from 554 billion euros.

Airbus aims to deliver around 820 commercial aircraft in 2025, up by 54 from last year.

Shares fell almost 1% in Paris but have gained 15% over the past 12 months, in contrast to Boeing's 8.5% decline.

Defense and space woes

It was a testing year for Airbus' defense and space division. While its order intake was a record 16.7 billion euros, it reported a loss of 566 million euros — largely due to a 1.3 billion euro charge on its space programs.

"We are in a situation where some US players are disrupting the ecosystem and going at scale on new technologies," Faury said.

He added that Airbus was in discussions with Thales and Leonardo about consolidating the European space sector.

In defense, Airbus also took a charge of 121 million euros on its A400M program. The company said there were "uncertainties" on the number of orders.