vietjet c909
It’s an old adage in the industry: not every aircraft order is entirely an aviation story. Sometimes it is a foreign policy statement with wings attached. Vietjet’s agreement to lease 10 COMAC C909 regional jets falls into this category.
The Deal in Context
Vietjet signed a finance lease with China’s SPDB Financial Leasing for 10 C909s on April 16, on the sidelines of Vietnamese President To Lam’s state visit to Beijing — his first overseas trip since being elected. The signing ceremony took place at the Vietnamese Embassy in Beijing, with Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister present. Simultaneously, Vietjet announced five new Vietnam-China routes. The aircraft and the routes are a single diplomatic package, not a standalone commercial decision.
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This detail reframes the entire story. In October 2025, Vietjet allowed its lease contract for two C909s to expire — citing the costs associated with using foreign crews and maintenance services. The aircraft subsequently returned under a wet-lease arrangement with Chengdu Airlines. One of those two C909s is currently parked.
Vietjet is signing for 10 more of the aircraft type it already walked away from once due to operational cost issues. The foreign crew dependency and maintenance cost structure that caused the first pause has not been publicly resolved. Whether 10 aircraft changes that equation — through scale, through SPDB financing terms, or through negotiated COMAC support — has not been disclosed.
COMAC’s Ceiling
EASA certification of the C919 is unlikely before 2028 and could slip to 2031. Around 40% of C919 components — including CFM LEAP-1C engines — still come from Western suppliers, leaving COMAC exposed to export controls if geopolitical tensions escalate. The C909’s Western component dependency is lower but not zero. For an airline with nearly 600 aircraft on order from Airbus and Boeing, COMAC remains a side relationship rather than a strategic pivot.
The Bottom Line
Boeing and Airbus are sold out of narrowbody jets well into the 2030s, leaving a gap that COMAC is trying to fill in Asia. That is the structural reality COMAC is exploiting — not superior aircraft economics, not certification credibility, and not commercial competitiveness on a level playing field. Vietjet’s 10 C909s will fly Vietnam-China routes because Vietnam’s president visited Beijing and both governments needed a signing ceremony. That is a legitimate way to do business in Asia. It is not the same as winning on merit.
COMAC is making progress. It is making it slowly, at the margins, and largely through geopolitical tailwinds rather than commercial pull. The Vietjet deal is a data point in that story — not a turning point.
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