Lao Airlines to put COMAC C909 jet into service
The C909 regional jet (former ARJ21) will soon have its second foreign operator, Lao Airlines.
The Southeast Asian country’s state-owned carrier Lao told Reuters it is set to receive its first aircraft in March.
The airline, however, did not disclose how many C909s it will have while COMAC has not disclosed any agreement.
Founded in 1976, Lao Airlines currently operates a fleet of four Airbus A320s and seven ATR 72 turboprops.
Its flight network is based in Vientiane and serves domestic destinations as well as countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, China and South Korea.
A team from the airline reportedly attended training at COMAC’s facilities at Shanghai’s Pudong Airport. Staff from Laos’ civil aviation regulator were also seen in images shared on social media.
Type certification
The adoption of COMAC jets in Laos is facilitated by a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with China in 2010 that allows the operation of Xian MA60 aircraft.
Vietnam, another country planning to operate Chinese aircraft, is still in the process of recognizing type certifications issued by CAAC, China’s civil aviation authority.
The C909 is China’s first mass-produced commercial jet and has only one overseas customer, Indonesia’s TransNusa, which flies two of the aircraft.
About the Author
Ricardo Meier
Creator of the website that started in 1996 as a magazine. He also writes on Brazilian websites AUTOO, MOTOO and MetrôCPTM.
