China’s Comac partners with Vietjet to operate homemade planes in Vietnam

China’s state-owned aerospace manufacturer Comac has been partnering with Vietjet to operate its self-made airplanes in Vietnam as the former looks to tap the Southeast Asian country’s fast-growing aviation market.

At a meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Kunming, Yunnan on Wednesday, Wei Yingbiao, deputy general manager of Comac, said he recognized Vietnam as a highly potential market.

Comac was having in-depth technical discussions with Vietjet to put its aircraft into use in the country, the government’s news portal quoted Wei Yingbiao as saying.

Shanghai-based Comac, which stands for Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd., is well known for its C919, a narrow-body plane designed and produced in China. It is also developing the ARJ21, a twin-engine regional airliner.

For his part, PM Chinh spoke highly of Comac’s achievements in researching and developing modern commercial aircraft and bringing the C919 to an airshow in Vietnam in February.

He welcomed Comac to continue researching the Vietnamese market and partner with Vietnamese businesses, including Vietjet, the largest private airline in Vietnam, to diversify the aircraft fleet in the country.

Chinh called on Comac to study cooperation and operate other flight routes in Vietnam and between the two neighboring countries; and aid Vietnam in aerospace science-technology development.

The Comac executive said his company will work closely with Vietjet to carry out their partnership.

Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper quoted Wei as saying that Comac’s aircraft had conducted trial flights between Ho Chi Minh City and Con Dao island, off the southern coast of Vietnam. He expected the aircraft to fly in Vietnam by the end of this year officially.