Chinese jet maker COMAC eyes Southeast Asia after Singapore debut

When China's answer to the Boeing 737 and the Airbus A320 debuted at the Singapore Airshow, it signaled that Southeast Asia would be the first stop for manufacturer COMAC on its journey to go global. The C919's appearance at Asia's biggest aerospace industry event last month marked the first time the narrow-body jet was shown to the public outside of mainland China or Hong Kong. COMAC, or Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China, signed two deals at the show with Chinese airlines for the C919 and the smaller ARJ21 regional jet. China Eastern Airlines put the C919 into service last year. But COMAC has ambitions beyond its home market. "Today, we gather at the Singapore Airshow to witness the C919 large passenger aircraft and ARJ21 regional aircraft going abroad and flying to the world," a COMAC representative said at the event. After the airshow, C919 and ARJ21 jets made multiple stops at Southeast Asian airports, including Kuala Lumpur, for demonstration flights, Malaysian and other media reported. GallopAir, a Brunei-based budget carrier that has yet to start flying, said last year that it had signed a letter of intent to buy 15 each of the C919 and the ARJ21 planes. There is little public information about GallopAir but it appears to have Chinese connections. CEO Cham Chi said the airline is owned by Chinese businessman Yang Qiang, Reuters reported. Last year, Sino-Indonesian joint venture TransNusa started flying the ARJ21, becoming the first foreign customer for the plane, which had its first commercial flight in 2016. <br/>