Vietnamese budget carrier VietJet Air has agreed to lease as many as 10 Chinese-made C909 regional passenger jets, giving a lift to their manufacturer’s goal of vying with Airbus and Boeing in overseas civil aviation.
VietJet said in a statement on Thursday night it had agreed with SPDB Financial Leasing, a subsidiary of Shanghai Pudong Development Bank in China, to finance the aircraft through operating leases. Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) makes the jets that are the subject of the deal, which followed talks between the Chinese and Vietnamese presidents in Beijing on Wednesday.
“Driven by its vision to become a multinational aviation group, VietJet is expanding its international flight network and investing in a modern fleet,” the carrier said, adding that the Chinese bank “plays an important role in structuring aircraft leasing and financing solutions”.
A Beijing lease-signing event attended by Vietnam’s deputy prime minister, Phan Van Giang, took place during this week’s state visit to China by Vietnamese President To Lam at the invitation of President Xi Jinping.
“[It] means a lot,” said Nguyen Thanh Trung, a political scientist at Fulbright University in Vietnam. “The number of 10 planes may tell a lot.”
Comac is keen to compete with Airbus, Boeing and other aircraft makers outside China, where it has a relatively small market share.
China and Vietnam said in a joint statement on Friday that the two sides “support further cooperation in the civil aviation sector and welcome Vietnamese airlines to introduce and operate Chinese commercial aircraft”.
