As soon as the Singapore Airshow 2024 ended, COMAC already continued the demonstration tour of its C919 and ARJ21 commercial jets outside China.
On Monday, February 26, the two aircraft landed at Van Don International Airport, in Vietnam, to start the “COMAC Airshow 2024” event.
According to the airport management, the two commercial jets will perform flight demonstrations for guests until February 29, visiting other Vietnamese airports.
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Vietnam has been experiencing a major expansion in air travel, with the emergence of new low-cost carriers. Both Airbus and Boeing have been campaigning to win orders from local airlines.
For COMAC, the ARJ21 may be a product closer to being sold and a type of aircraft little seen in the country. Embraer jets, for example, will no longer be operated by Bamboo Airways in March.
Looking for customers outside of China
COMAC plans to visit other countries in Southeast Asia as part of the first international tour of the C919, the most advanced jetliner ever developed in China.
After starting commercial flights with China Eastern Airlines in May 2023, the C919 is about to have its production expanded to meet initial demand from its customers.
COMAC, however, is looking for the first agreements outside China. One of the potential orders is expected to come from Brunei’s GallopAir, which has signed a Letter of Intent for 30 aircraft in 2023, but is still dependent on type certification to put them into service.
Equivalent to the Airbus A320 and the Boeing 737 MAX, the C919 can carry around 180 passengers and currently depends on many Western components such as CFM’s Leap-1C engines.
COMAC intends, however, to replace them with a domestic turbofan, however, if the state-owned company aims to export it, the C919 is likely to keep the Leap engine in view as well as other foreign suppliers.
