Air Cambodia announced it may buy up to 20 Chinese-made COMAC C909 regional jets. The deal comes as COMAC tries to grow its footprint outside of mainland China. The plane is in service in China and other countries like Laos and Vietnam but still lacks certification in the United States and in Europe. No financial details were disclosed.
Cambodia and the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) both said on Tuesday (9 September) they had signed a memorandum of understanding in China for 10 confirmed C909 orders, with the option to purchase 10 more. COMAC has placed its older and smaller C909 regional jet with airlines in Indonesia, Vietnam and Laos, as stepping stones into foreign markets, and signed orders for both models with an airline in Brunei.
COMAC is developing its own commercial jets to compete with dominant plane makers Airbus and Boeing. COMAC’s narrowbody C919, which is intended to compete against the popular Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 MAX models, is currently operated only by Chinese carriers.
Lao Airlines this month took delivery of its second C909 and started flying the model cross-border to the Thai capital Bangkok. COMAC has also proposed taking a majority stake in Laos’ debt-troubled national carrier.
The C909, previously branded as the ARJ21, seats up to 90 people and is China’s first jet-powered plane to reach commercial production. It entered service in 2016.
Source: Asian Aviation
