China's C919, ARJ21 debut at Vietnam airshow for five-nation Southeast Asia tour

Chinese airplanes C919 and ARJ21 developed by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd (COMAC) debuted at the Vietnam airshow on Monday for a demonstration flight tour in five Southeast Asia countries, China Media Group (CMG) reported.

The four-day Vietnam airshow is scheduled from Monday to Thursday. The two jetliners flew from Singapore to Vietnam's Van Don International Airport in the northern Quang Ninh Province on Monday, after finishing the Singapore Airshow 2024 where they made their first airshow appearances outside China.

In the following two weeks, the C919 and ARJ21-700 will carry out demonstration flights in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia and Indonesia, to verify their adaptabilities to airports and routes in the Southeast Asian countries, laying foundation for future market development in the region, according to CMG. 

Hoang Van Dung, deputy director of Van Don International Airport, said the COMAC airshow would help enable the operation of commercial flights from Chinese provinces and cities to Van Don, firstly from Shantou City of China's Guangdong Province.

The show is expected to promote tourism cooperation between Quang Ninh Province and China's key markets, and at the same time, encourage airlines to launch flights and travel agencies to launch tourism packages to Van Don International Airport, he said.

The C919 is a narrow-body passenger aircraft with a maximum capacity of 192 seats, while the ARJ21-700 is a twin-engine jet with a maximum of 90 seats. Visitors to the COMAC airshow in Vietnam will have chances to explore the jetliners inside.

The first C919 aircraft made its inaugural commercial flight between east China's Shanghai Municipality and the capital city Beijing on May 28, 2023. Currently, four C919s have been put into operation, serving more than 110,000 passenger trips.

The ARJ21 regional jet can carry 78 to 97 passengers with a range of 2,225 to 3,700 kilometers. It features an outstanding performance in takeoff and landing at high-temperature, high-altitude airports and strong crosswind resistance capabilities. A total of 127 ARJ21 jets have been delivered since its commercial operation in June 2016, safely transporting more than 11 million passenger trips.

(With input from Xinhua)