Comac Chairman: 'Coming to Quang Ninh is a step forward to internationalize Chinese aircraft'

The arrival of two Chinese aircraft at Van Don is an important step towards internationalizing domestically produced commercial aircraft, according to the Chairman of Comac.

This message was announced by the Chairman of Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) Tan Wangeng at the opening of the event introducing two aircraft ARJ21 and C919 on the morning of February 27 at Van Don International Airport ( Quang Ninh ).

Two Comac aircraft at Van Don International Airport, Quang Ninh. Photo:Sun Group

Vietnam is the second overseas destination of the C919, after Singapore. The C919 is a narrow-body passenger aircraft with a length of nearly 39 meters, a capacity of 168 passengers, and a maximum range of 4,075 km. Beijing hopes to break the monopoly of Boeing and Airbus in the global aircraft manufacturing market with this narrow-body aircraft line.

Mr. Dam Van Canh informed that Comac has delivered 4 C919s to Chinese airlines. To date, the C919 has accumulated 12,600 safe flight hours and carried about 136,000 passengers.

Comac Chairman said he was "very happy" to be at Van Don airport. He considered today's event an important step towards the internationalization of Chinese commercial aircraft.

Chairman of Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) Tan Wangeng. Photo: Le Tan

Recognizing Vietnam as a potential market, the leader of the Chinese aircraft manufacturer also hopes that Van Don will be the starting point, promoting cooperation in the aviation industry of the two countries. This is also the premise for Chinese airlines to transport passengers to Quang Ninh and Vietnam by Comac aircraft. He hopes that Vietnamese people and airlines will learn more about Chinese aircraft products.

To date, Comac has received more than 1,000 C919 orders from Chinese airlines and aircraft leasing companies. China Eastern Airlines is the largest orderer with more than 100 aircraft. Comac delivered the first C919 to China Eastern to operate scheduled domestic commercial flights in China in the middle of last year. China's second largest airline then received three more C919s and used them for the Beijing-Shanghai route since the beginning of this year.

The C919 also attracted a lot of public attention at the Singapore Airshow, Asia's largest aviation exhibition, last week. Comac announced an order for 40 narrow-body aircraft from Tibet Airlines. As for the ARJ 21, in addition to Chinese airlines, this jet has been delivered to a number of Indonesian airlines.

Saudi Arabia's Riyadh Air CEO Peter Bellew believes Comac will be a solution to counter Western monopolies in the industry.

On the sidelines of the Singapore Airshow, Airbus's director of commercial aircraft also assessed that Comac would be a rival to the European manufacturer in the future with the C919. However, he thought that this would not significantly affect Airbus. Meanwhile, Boeing's director of commercial aircraft marketing in the Asia- Pacific region, Dave Schulte, said he hoped to one day compete in sales with this Chinese rival.

Currently, the C919 has not been certified by regulatory agencies in the US and Europe. According to Reuters, the design of the C919 has only been certified by Chinese aviation authorities. However, this year, China will promote the plane around the world and pursue certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

Anh Tu - Le Tan

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