Vietnamese low-cost carrier Vietjet stopped operating two Chinese-made COMAC C909 aircraft on October 18 after a six-month lease contract for the planes expired, two sources familiar with the matter said, reports Reuters. The C909s were introduced in Vietnam less than a week after Chinese leader Xi Jinping visited Hanoi in April, highlighting the political significance of the launch as a gesture of deepening strategic and economic ties between the two countries.
However, Vietjet has opted not to extend the lease and has no immediate plans to purchase aircraft from China’s state-owned planemaker COMAC, the two sources said. Vietjet declined to comment, while COMAC did not respond to a request for comment.
The lease marked the first use of Chinese aircraft on domestic routes in Vietnam including Hanoi–Con Dao and Ho Chi Minh City–Con Dao, and was a major breakthrough for COMAC, which has struggled to have its planes used abroad.