On February 27th, the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) welcomed Vietnamese visitors to explore the cockpit and passenger cabin of their airplanes at an exhibition held at Van Don International Airport (Quang Ninh).
At approximately 3 PM today (February 27th), COMAC showcased their aircraft in Quang Ninh’s sky. Visitors had the opportunity to experience a “Made in China” airplane and admire the sight of Ha Long Bay from above.
According to Quang Ninh newspaper, from February 26th to 29th, COMAC Air will organize an exhibition, featuring their commercial aircraft, at Van Don International Airport. This is the first time that Comac Airshow has been organized in Vietnam.
Vietnam is the second international destination for the C919 aircraft, after Singapore.
Two C919 and ARJ21 aircraft parked at Van Don International Airport. Photo: La Nghia Hieu/TN
COMAC cooperated with the People’s Committee of Quang Ninh province to organize a program introducing two Chinese-manufactured aircraft.
During the event, Mr. Tan Wan Canh, Chairman of COMAC, shared that bringing the two Chinese aircraft to Van Don is an important milestone towards internationalizing self-manufactured commercial aircraft by China.
According to COMAC, the company has received over 1,000 orders for the C919 aircraft from airlines and aircraft leasing companies. China Eastern Airlines is the airline with the most orders, with over 100 aircraft. In fact, COMAC has already delivered its first C919 aircraft to China Eastern Airlines for domestic commercial flights in China starting mid-2023. After that, the airline will also receive three more C919 aircraft to operate the Beijing-Shanghai route starting from early 2024.
What is the enclosed section of the C919?
A close-up of the C919 aircraft on display at Van Don International Airport (Quang Ninh). Photo: VnEconomy
The C919 aircraft has a cockpit configuration similar to the Airbus A320 model. In particular, most of the equipment in the front and inside the cockpit of this aircraft comes from the United States and Europe.
In addition, the C919 also includes some other parts manufactured by US companies, such as wheels and brakes, black box, and aluminum fuselage. The C919 uses CFM International LEAP engines from US and French manufacturers. However, at the exhibition at Van Don International Airport this morning, according to photos from VnEconomy, COMAC covered the two engines of the C919 aircraft.
Meanwhile, the ARJ21 is a twin-engine aircraft that uses GE CF34-10A engines from the United States and Liebherr (Germany) landing gear and systems.
Among the two aircraft displayed by COMAC at Van Don International Airport, only the engines of the C919 were covered. At other aviation exhibitions, manufacturers often cover the engines of newly introduced aircraft models.
On February 20th, during an exhibition in Singapore, the COMAC C919 aircraft also had its engine covered.
The C919 aircraft on display at the Singapore Airshow on March 20th. The aircraft’s engines were also covered. Photo: Gabriel Dominguez
In 2024, China will promote this aircraft worldwide and pursue certification from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The C919 is China’s first narrow-body commercial aircraft manufactured to compete with the widely used Airbus 737 MAX and Boeing A320 models worldwide.
Meanwhile, the ARJ21 aircraft was certified by the Civil Aviation Administration of China at the end of 2014.
On February 27th, COMAC also announced that it will bring the C919 and ARJ21 aircraft to 5 Southeast Asian countries in the next 2 weeks for promotional activities. The 5 Southeast Asian countries include Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Indonesia. COMAC expects that this promotional chain of events will lay the foundation for future international commercial activities.
The C919 aircraft showcased in Vietnam. Photo: China Eastern Airlines
Prior to this, at 11:50 AM and 12:40 PM on February 26th, the COMAC Air C919 and ARJ21 aircraft landed at Van Don International Airport, officially commencing the Comac Airshow exhibition and demonstration events.
The C919 and ARJ21 are two types of commercial aircraft that COMAC Air is actively developing. Among them, the C919 large passenger aircraft has 158-192 seats. On August 25th, 2023, this aircraft successfully made its first commercial flight. Up to now, a total of 4 C919 aircraft have been put into operation, ensuring the safe transportation of over 110,000 passengers.
Meanwhile, the ARJ21 is a twin-engine regional jet with 78-97 seats that has been in service since 2016. To date, a total of 127 aircraft have been put into operation, ensuring the safe transportation of over 11 million passengers.
References: COMAC, Reuters
