SEOUL, March 26 (Reuters) - Government-owned Lao

Airlines is set to start operating COMAC's C909 regional jet, a

spokesperson for the country's flag carrier said, joining

several other Southeast Asian nations preparing to add

Chinese-made commercial aircraft to their fleets.

A group of Lao Airlines staff was at COMAC's Customer

Training Centre in Shanghai this week for training on COMAC

planes, photos shared on social media by several employees

showed.

A spokesperson for Vientiane-based Lao Airlines confirmed

the training and said the airline was expecting to get one C909

around the end of March.

Other social media postings indicate staff from Laos' civil

aviation regulator also attended training there this month.

Laos' Department of Civil Aviation (DCAL) did not respond to

a request for comment on the training or certification of the

C909 in Laos. COMAC did not respond to a request for comment.

The state-owned Chinese planemaker has since the start of

last year stepped up marketing to regulators and airlines as it

seeks to compete internationally with rivals Airbus,

Boeing ( BA ) and Embraer ( ERJ ) and ramps up production of

the C909 and its larger C919 narrowbody jet.

COMAC's C909, previously branded as the ARJ21, is a regional

jet that seats up to 90 people and is China's first jet-powered

plane to reach commercial production. It entered service in

2016.

The C909 is not as high-profile as COMAC's more advanced

C919, but its introduction in Laos would allow the planemaker to

gain a foothold in another country and boost its visibility

outside China.

Vietnamese budget carrier VietJet has agreed to

lease two C909s from China's Chengdu Airlines and is waiting for

Vietnam's regulator to authorise the use of Chinese-manufactured

planes in the country.

Laos already operates small Chinese-made Xian MA60 turboprop

planes. A 2010 memorandum of understanding between the Chinese

and Lao aviation regulators shows that Laos recognises China's

aircraft design certifications - avoiding the step Vietnam's

regulator needs to take.

Indonesia is the only country outside China operating COMAC

planes, through Indonesian carrier TransNusa, which flies C909s.

Brunei-based startup GallopAir in 2023 ordered 15 C909s and

15 C919s, in the first non-Chinese C919 order, but has yet to

receive authorisation for the C909s from the country's aviation

regulator.

In January, the airline chartered a China Southern Airlines

C909 to Brunei as trial.