Japan’s Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp is all
set to launch country’s first passenger jet in four decades after a delay of
four years. A rolling out ceremony in Nagoya on October 18 will unveil the long
awaited Mitsubishi Regional Jet, or MRJ, a fuel-efficient lightweight
carbon-fiber composite passenger plane.
The first flight is planned for the
second quarter of next year, with test flights to follow totalling 2,500 hours,
and the first deliveries are set for 2017MRJ has received 191 orders, from All
Nippon Airways, Trans State Holdings, SkyWest, Air Mandalay and Eastern Air
Line with 184 additional purchase options.
The company is building 78- and 92-seat
versions of the plane, called the Mitsubishi Regional Jet, and plans to conduct
the first flight by the end of June. The larger model will come out first.
The MRJ is Japan's first nationally
funded, domestically manufactured passenger aircraft since the YS-11, a
turboprop airplane that was discontinued in 1973.
Japan and China are leading the Asian
race to break the virtual duopoly of Embraer SA and Bombardier Inc. in the
market for small passenger jets.
Boeing Co. and its European rival Airbus
Group NV lock out the market for larger passenger planes.
Mitsubishi announced in 2008 it would
start building Japan’s first passenger jet and has pushed back the date for
test flights three times since then. The company expects global demand for
regional jets to be about 5,000 planes over the two-decade period to 2030.
Honda Motor Co. is also developing a
smaller business jet that can seat up to six passengers and is set to be
delivered to customers next year. The company says it has won two to three
years of orders for what it calls “flying sports cars".
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