The Comac 909 jet seen at Con Dao Airport in March 2024. Photo courtesy of Comac
Private airline Vietjet wants to lease two Chinese-made COMAC jets for flights connecting Con Dao Islands with Hanoi and HCMC starting early next year.
It has signed contracts for a wet lease (which includes both the jets and the crews) of two COMAC C909 jets from Chengdu Airlines from Jan. 15, it told the Ministry of Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam in a recent report.
The aircraft will be used to cater to high travel demand to and from the southern island during the Lunar New Year Tet holiday season which begins late January.
Chengdu Airlines was the first airline to receive and commercially operate the C909 (used to be branded as ARJ21) since 2016. It has recorded thousands of safe flight hours with the aircraft.
The C909, China’s first regional jet, is powered by two engines made by the U.S.’ General Electric with landing gear and flight equipment provided by Germany’s Liebherr.
COMAC delivered the first C909 to an international customer in Indonesia in 2022.
The aircraft has a flight range of 2,200 to 3,700 kilometers and can accommodate 78 to 97 seats, making it comparable in size to aircraft currently operating at Con Dao Airport, such as the ATR-72 and Embraer E190.
Con Dao Airport can only accommodate these small aircraft due to its limited runway length.
During a meeting with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in early November, COMAC leaders expressed a desire to strengthen partnerships with Vietnamese companies and deepen collaboration with Vietjet to introduce made-in-China aircraft into the Vietnam market.
Northern customers currently do not have any direct flight option for Con Dao. They have to fly to either HCMC or Can Tho City and then take a flight with the short-haul aircraft ATR72 operated by Vietnam Airlines.
