Cambodia's national airline, Air Cambodia, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) for 10 C909 aircraft, with an option to purchase 10 more.
"Both parties will closely cooperate in introducing the aircraft, supporting operations, and developing the aviation industry," Comac stated in a press release.
According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), this could become the largest order from an international airline for the Chinese manufacturer. With this agreement, Cambodia becomes the fourth Southeast Asian nation to acquire Comac aircraft, following Indonesia, Laos, and Vietnam.
 |
Comac's C909 aircraft. Photo: Reuters |
Comac's C909 aircraft. Photo: Reuters
The C909, formerly known as the ARJ21, is a regional jet independently developed by Comac since 2002. It can accommodate 78 to 97 passengers and serves routes from 2,225 km to 3,700 km. The aircraft utilizes two US-made GE CF34-10A engines and flight and landing gear systems from Liebherr (Germany).
Within China, Chengdu Airlines was the first to receive and commercially operate the C909 in 2016. Comac delivered the first ARJ21 to an international customer in Indonesia in 2022.
By the end of last year, this aircraft model had logged 194,000 flight hours and over 135,000 takeoffs and landings. In Southeast Asia, Indonesia's TransNusa, Lao Airlines, and Vietjet are operating the C909 on 15 routes, connecting 18 cities in the region.
As of early July, Comac had delivered 166 C909s to various airlines, serving over 24 million passengers.
In addition to this regional jet, the Chinese manufacturer has also put into commercial operation the C919, a narrow-body aircraft aiming to compete with and break the duopoly of Airbus and Boeing in the global aviation market. Comac is currently developing the C929, a wide-body aircraft model.
Anh Tu (via SCMP)
