(HANOI, VIETNAM) Vietjet has suspended its Con Dao routes that were operated with COMAC C909 regional jets, ending service on October 18, 2025 after a six-month wet-lease with Chengdu Airlines expired. The airline said it has no immediate plans to renew the lease or to acquire COMAC aircraft, and has stepped away from Con Dao due to the lack of a suitable replacement type. The move closes a short, high-profile chapter that began in April and carried both commercial and diplomatic weight.
Timeline and routes
The wet-lease of two COMAC C909s started in April 2025, shortly after a state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Hanoi. The arrangement was widely viewed as a diplomatic milestone for China–Vietnam ties.
Vietjet used the aircraft on domestic routes connecting Hanoi, Con Dao, and Ho Chi Minh City, filling a gap left when Bamboo Airways pulled its Con Dao services. The two aircraft, registered B-652G and B-656E, made their final flights from Con Dao to Hanoi on October 17. Neither has flown since, and both have been returned to Chengdu Airlines.
Vietjet’s presence on the island ends for now. The airline currently has no other aircraft in its fleet capable of using Con Dao’s short runway, a physical limit that shaped this entire experiment. What began as a timely fix for a popular destination became a brief trial of a Chinese-made regional jet in Vietnam’s domestic market.
Operational and policy context
Vietjet chose not to renew the wet-lease due to high operational costs, which included:
- Paying for foreign crew
- Maintenance support sourced from China
- Working within evolving regulatory limits
The wet-lease model proved expensive in practice. Replacement parts had to be shipped from China, and there was no local support network for the C909s. While Vietnam’s regulatory reforms allowed Chinese-certified aircraft to fly domestically, alignment on certification and the logistics of servicing the jets in-country remained challenging. Those hurdles added cost and complexity that a low-cost carrier finds hard to absorb.
The COMAC C909 (previously known as the ARJ21) is the first regional jet designed and built in China. COMAC has pursued a bigger role in Southeast Asia, but Vietjet’s experience shows how difficult it is to run Chinese jets outside China when local maintenance, spares, and training ecosystems are still thin. That matters for airlines that count every dollar, minute, and crew hour — the economics must work on tight margins, not just in theory but day to day.
Industry watchers saw the six-month run as an important test: it delivered seats when travelers needed options to Con Dao but also underscored the scale problem. Without a base of parts, technicians, and simulators nearby, even routine fixes become slow and costly. That dynamic overshadowed the diplomatic momentum from April.
The arrangement worked as a stopgap for passengers, but the lack of nearby maintenance, spares, and trained crews made the model uneconomic for a LCC focused on quick turns and tight margins.
Key facts at a glance
- Lease period: April 2025 – October 18, 2025
- Aircraft: Two COMAC C909s operated by Chengdu Airlines (B-652G, B-656E)
- Routes: Hanoi–Con Dao; Ho Chi Minh City–Con Dao
- Outcome: Lease ended; aircraft returned; Vietjet withdrew from Con Dao
Economic and operational lessons
The end of these flights is a setback for COMAC’s regional ambitions. It highlights ongoing issues:
- International certification alignment
- Maintenance access and local spares availability
- Economic viability compared to Western-built aircraft with established regional support chains
None of this reflects on passenger demand for Con Dao, which remained present; rather, it reflects the hidden systems needed to keep jets safe, on-time, and affordable.
Vietjet’s decision also underlines how regulatory clearance is necessary but not sufficient. Operating a type requires:
- Mechanics trained on that jet
- Parts warehouses within reach
- Predictable turn times for checks and repairs
Without these, costs balloon and reliability dips — conditions unsustainable for a low-cost model built around quick turns and consistent schedules.
Wet-lease mechanics and why this one failed to persist
Wet-leases can help airlines respond fast to demand or cover gaps when another carrier exits a market. By definition:
- The lessor supplies the aircraft, crew, maintenance, and insurance.
- The lessee operates the schedule using those resources.
- The arrangement is intended to be temporary.
This model works when the aircraft type fits the route and support is nearby. In this case, distance to maintenance support and spares made an already difficult equation tougher, and the high ongoing costs outweighed the commercial benefit.
Impact on travelers and local economy
For travelers, the impact is immediate:
- Seat supply to Con Dao has dropped since Vietjet stepped back.
- People planning island trips must look for alternatives or adjust schedules.
- Workers moving for short-term assignments and families visiting loved ones will feel the squeeze first, especially on weekends and holidays.
As regularly noted by VisaVerge.com, air service shifts like this often force travelers to rethink connections, ticket changes, and entry plans.
Travelers who already hold tickets issued before the lease ended should check with airlines about rebooking or refunds. People connecting from other domestic cities will need to allow extra time or consider alternate airports when possible.
If you need official information about operational permissions or air safety policy in Vietnam, consult the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam: https://caa.gov.vn.
Local businesses in Con Dao that rely on tourism will feel secondary effects. When flights shrink, hotel bookings, tour schedules, and seasonal staffing plans often change. Airlines, airports, and local authorities typically watch these shifts closely, but in the near term the drop in direct capacity is real.
What this means for COMAC and future deployments
The two C909s that served these routes are now out of Vietjet service and back with Chengdu Airlines. The final flights on October 17 capped a half-year of operations that began with high hopes. They helped bridge a gap when Bamboo Airways stepped back from Con Dao but also highlighted the cost of running an aircraft type without local support.
For COMAC to win sustained business abroad, the company will need to address:
- Faster parts logistics
- Local maintenance capacity
- Smoother certification pathways
Without those building blocks, prospective operators will face the same friction.
Final takeaways
Vietjet’s suspension of Con Dao routes operated by the COMAC C909s is not about demand for the island; it is about the cost and practicality of keeping a specialized jet flying far from its home base. The airline’s withdrawal reflects a simple fact: without another aircraft in its fleet that can use Con Dao’s short runway, it cannot continue service. In aviation, runway length, aircraft performance, and the support network must all line up — here, they didn’t.
This Article in a Nutshell
Vietjet has suspended its Con Dao routes operated with two COMAC C909 regional jets after a six-month wet-lease with Chengdu Airlines expired on October 18, 2025. The aircraft, registered B-652G and B-656E, made final flights on October 17 and returned to Chengdu Airlines. Vietjet cited high operational costs—including foreign crew, China-sourced maintenance and spare parts—and no suitable replacement aircraft in its fleet able to use Con Dao’s short runway. While the wet-lease filled a gap left by Bamboo Airways and carried diplomatic significance, the lack of local maintenance support, logistical challenges, and certification alignment made the operation uneconomic for a low-cost carrier. The episode highlights the barriers COMAC faces expanding abroad: parts logistics, local maintenance capacity, and smoother certification pathways are necessary for sustainable operations.
