China's first home-grown jetliner flies to abroad

China's first home-developed regional passenger jet C909 was delivered to Lao Airlines on Sunday, marking a new step forward in the pace of going global of domestically developed aircraft.

The C909 aircraft has been delivered to Lao Airlines as a lease and will be put into commercial operation after completing a series of preparatory work in Laos. According to Commercial Aircraft Corp of China, or COMAC, the manufacturer of the C909, this is the first time that a Chinese jetliner has entered the Laotian market.

The plane adopts a 90-seat full economy class layout, and the internal and external signage is in Laotian language. With a customized design of the external coating, the tail of the aircraft is printed with the national flower of Laos, COMAC said.

The C909 aircraft, with a flying range of 2,225 to 3,700 kilometers, is capable of operating most domestic routes and international routes around Laos. Besides, the aircraft model has good high-temperature performance and takeoff and landing capabilities on short and narrow runways, which has strong adaptability to the operating environment in Southeast Asia, COMAC said.

So far, a total of 162 C909 aircraft have been delivered, having operated 645 routes, serving 158 cities and safely transporting over 20 million passengers.

Lao Airlines, a flag carrier that takes an important role in Laos' civil aviation transportation market, has been a vital force in promoting connectivity between Laos and its surrounding regions.

Currently, Lao Airlines is expanding its capacity and updating its fleet. The leasing of the C909 aircraft will help the carrier supplement its capacity and upgrade the fleet, better meeting a growing demand for the development of its air transportation market, COMAC said.