'Made in China' aircraft arrives in Vietnam for the first time

Quang Ninh After Singapore, Vietnam is the second foreign destination of the C919 - the aircraft that President Xi Jinping likened to "the driving force for China's new development model".

At 8:43 this morning, the Comac C919 narrow-body aircraft departed Changi Airport after performing at the Singapore Airshow to fly directly to Van Don International Airport (Quang Ninh) and landed at 11:45.

C919 aircraft arrived at Van Don on the morning of February 26. Photo: Xuan Hoa — C919 aircraft arrived at Van Don on the morning of February 26. Photo: *Xuan Hoa*

Vietnam is the second overseas destination of the C919, after Singapore. The C919 is a narrow-body passenger aircraft with a length of nearly 39 m, a capacity of 168 passengers, and a maximum range of 4,075 km.

The aircraft’s seat configuration is similar to the Boeing 737 Max and A320/321 models, with a central aisle and two rows of three seats on each side. Beijing hopes the C919 will help China break the monopoly of Boeing and Airbus in the commercial aircraft manufacturing market. The aircraft has also put China on the list of a handful of countries that can design and manufacture their own aircraft, including the US, Russia, Brazil, Canada, the UK, France and Germany.

Nearly an hour later, the ARJ21-700, China's regional jet, also landed in Van Don. The ARJ21-700 has a maximum of 90 seats and a range of about 3,200 km. This is the first passenger aircraft produced by China.

C919 and ARJ21-700 (right) at Van Don airport on the morning of February 26. Photo: Xuan Hoa — ARJ21-700 (right) and C919 at Van Don airport on the morning of February 26. Photo: *Xuan Hoa*

The C919 and ARJ21-700 are the first two civil aircraft in China designed and manufactured by Comac. The two aircraft arrived in Vietnam to kick off the Comac Airshow series of events from February 26-29.

On the morning of February 27, Comac’s aircraft will perform in Van Don. After being displayed statically here, the aircraft will fly to Con Dao, Tan Son Nhat, Dong Hoi, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City and Vientiane (Laos).

Comac's C919 aircraft brought to Vietnam has registration number B-001F. This is also the aircraft that the airline has displayed several times in the past week at the Singapore air show.

Mr. Cao Tuong Huy, Chairman of Quang Ninh province, will also privately receive Mr. Hung Ba, Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam and representatives of Comac Group to discuss cooperation in developing flights from China to Van Don and Comac's research into opening a representative office in Quang Ninh.

The Van Don - Shenzhen route opened in May 2019 but was interrupted due to Covid-19.

Mr. Hoang Van Dung, Deputy Director of Van Don International Airport, said that this event will create the premise for the exploitation of commercial flights from provinces and cities of China to Van Don, Quang Ninh and in the near future from Shantou city (a coastal city in Guangdong province, China) to Van Don (Quang Ninh). This is also an affirmation of the position of the first and leading private airport in Vietnam - a place with full infrastructure to organize major events of the world aviation industry.

Le Tan

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