appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Frank Chen

Ralph Jennings

China’s leading planemaker is redoubling its efforts to boost the international profile of its home-grown jets in 2026, injecting a sizeable amount of capital into a subsidiary carrier as it attempts to widen its planes’ coverage area and attract more overseas buyers.
The state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac), manufacturer of the C909 regional airliner and the company’s flagship narrowbody C919, recently infused 634 million yuan (US$91.76 million) into C909 launch customer Chengdu Airlines, in which the planemaker has a 48 per cent controlling stake.
Combined with funding from other sources, the injection has nearly tripled Chengdu Airlines’ registered capital from 680 million yuan to 2 billion yuan, a move analysts viewed as laying the groundwork for more C909s to reach locales in Southeast Asia, Central Asia and Russia on commercial flights.
As the carrier seeks new international routes – and Comac looks to gain whatever advantage it can in its quest to compete with Western giants Boeing and Airbus – the C909 could aid in both goals, having already been added to a number of international routes and the fleets of overseas carriers.
The higher-profile C919, having only taken to the skies outside China as part of industry expos, has been exclusively operated by domestic airlines since its first commercial voyage in May 2023.
Chengdu Airlines put out notices in recent months recruiting partners for new international routes using the C909, including service to Vladivostok and Khabarovsk in Russia and Osh in Kyrgyzstan.
The carrier has already employed the C909 for international routes within Asia. In June 2024, it launched the jet’s first service to Central Asia, linking Kashgar in western China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region to Khujand, the second-largest city in Tajikistan.
In April 2025, Chengdu Airlines leased two C909s to Vietnamese budget carrier VietJet for flights serving Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and other local destinations. The move made Vietnam the third country with an airline adopting Comac’s jet, after Indonesia and Laos.
As part of the lease agreement, the Chinese carrier provided crew, maintenance and safety support. That cooperation stopped in October, but VietJet reportedly agreed to renew the lease one month later.
Flying the C909 to more destinations is a good demonstration for other carriers in the region
Jason Zheng, Airwefly
Analysts said having a dedicated carrier to fly its planes would be a good strategy for Comac.
“Comac controls Chengdu Airlines, and the latter boasts one of the biggest C909 fleets,” said Jason Zheng, an analyst with Shanghai-based consultancy and aviation news portal Airwefly.
“Flying the C909 to more destinations is a good demonstration for other carriers in the region.”
These flights could lead to foreign purchases of the C909, he said, adding this may eventually benefit the C919’s international prospects.
The C909’s first overseas customer was Indonesia’s TransNusa, a regional carrier backed by Chinese capital. It began operating the jet in April 2023, and Lao Airlines followed with a C909 flight in April 2025. That September, Air Cambodia also signed a memorandum of understanding with Comac for 10 C909s, with the option to buy 10 more.
Formerly known as the ARJ-21, the C909 can carry up to 97 passengers for trips as long as 3,700km (2,299 miles). At the Singapore Airshow earlier this month, Comac confirmed nine C909s were flying in Southeast Asia on more than 20 routes, carrying a cumulative 700,000 passengers.
Nguyen Thanh Trung, a political scientist at Fulbright University in Vietnam, said customers in the region now have a better understanding of the C909’s virtues.
“The shorter flight distances to Southeast Asia, and possibly lower prices of aircraft, will help sell Comac’s planes in the region. The C909 would be more popular than the C919 because it’s optimal for two-hour flights and less expensive,” he said.
“The C909 is very suitable during this economic uncertainty when [airlines] want to cut costs.”
In November, Comac received its own funding infusion from a group led by China’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, with 44 billion yuan invested into the planemaker. Following the capital injection, the State Council institution’s stake in Comac increased to just over 53 per cent.


Air China Boeing 747 grounded in New York following gate refuelling incident

More interest in home-grown C919 lays bare demand-supply mismatch at Comac

‘Very smooth’: passenger shares experience on C919’s first commercial international flight

China’s civil aviation ambitions gain some lift

China airliners

China’s C909 jet gets international uplift with funding for adoptive airline

Lao Airlines, the flag carrier of Laos, has added the Comac C909 regional jet to its fleet. Photo: CCTV

A C909 aircraft, made by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, on display during the 10th Singapore Airshow. Photo: Xinhua

China plans regulatory change to help C919 jet compete with Airbus and Boeing

A C919 passenger jet performs a fly-by at the Singapore Airshow in 2024. Photo: Xinhua

A C919 passenger jet operated by China Eastern Airlines takes off from an airport in Shanghai. Photo: Xinhua

China’s Comac debuts C909 surgical cabin to expand ‘flying hospitals’ in remote regions

The Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) has launched a surgical cabin for its C909 narrowbody jet. Photo: Sina

The new clean surgical cabin aboard a C909 narrowbody jet. Photo: Sina

China’s C919 to lift off again at Singapore Airshow in bid for Asean sales

China’s Comac C919 plane, top, and six Pilatus PC-21 aircraft, down, perform during a preview of the 2024 Singapore Airshow in Singapore. Photo: AFP

The C919 made its international debut at the Singapore Airshow in February 2024. Photo: Xinhua

As China’s ‘Air Silk Road’ grows, can Comac’s C909 and C919 jets take off abroad?

This photo taken on March 4, 2024, shows a Chinese airplane C919 at Wattay International Airport in Vientiane, Laos. Photo: Xinhua

People visit the booth of Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) during the 55th Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport near Paris, France, on June 17. Photo: Xinhua

Maker of China’s C919 jet set to pick up production pace after delay: sources

A China Eastern Airlines C919 begins taxiing to the runway at Hong Kong International Airport in January last year. Photo: Eugene Lee

A model of the C919’s LEAP-1C engine on display at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai in November. Photo: Frank Chen

Economy

China Economy

Global Economy

News

China

Asia

Southeast Asia

World

Russia & Central Asia

China Future Tech

Aerospace

Chengdu Airlines, an affiliate of C909 manufacturer Comac, has received a capital injection to help widen the jet’s international coverage


Chengdu Airlines, an affiliate of C909 manufacturer Comac, has received a capital injection to help widen the jet’s international coverage.


China’s C909 jet gets international uplift with funding for adoptive airline

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Chengdu Airlines, an affiliate of C909 manufacturer Comac, has received a capital injection to help widen the jet’s international coverage

Chengdu Airlines, an affiliate of C909 manufacturer Comac, has received a capital injection to help widen the jet’s international coverage