China's homegrown C919 jet lands in Vietnam after Singapore Airshow

By Sophie Yu and Brenda Goh

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's homegrown C919 passenger jet, manufactured by Commercial Aviation Corp of China (COMAC), landed in Vietnam on Monday, its second international destination after Singapore, Chinese state television CCTV reported.

The C919 made its international debut at the Singapore Airshow last week, where the company announced an order for 40 of the jetliners from China's Tibet Airlines.

The Vietnam News Agency said the C919 arrived in Van Don International Airport in the northern Quang Ninh province on to take part in an airshow, following the end of the Singapore Airshow on Sunday.

It was accompanied by the ARJ-21 regional jet, a smaller predecessor to the C919 which is also manufactured by COMAC and counts Indonesian low-cost carrier TransNusa as an operator.

Vietnamese local media also said that both planes will fly to Da Nang city, southern Ho Chi Minh City and Laos' capital Vientiane after the airshow in Quang Ninh.

China designed the C919 to be a rival to the Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus A320neo family of single-aisle jets and it has attracted more than 1,000 orders so far, largely from Chinese airlines and lessors.

COMAC's presence at the Singapore Airshow was seen by attendees as an opportunistic coming out for the jet, happening at a time when Boeing and Airbus, the two dominant Western planemakers, are dealing with supply chain issues that have frustrated customers.

The C919's design is only certified by China, and China's aviation authority has said it would promote the plane internationally this year and pursue European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification.

(Reporting by Li Qiaoyi, Sophie Yu, Brenda Goh; editing by Miral Fahmy)