(Photo Credit: Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp.)
Mitsubishi may be a globally recognized brand name, but it's not one you'd expect to see on an aircraft fuselage. That's about to change: This weekend, Mitsubishi Aircraft, a division of the industrial giant, is rolling out the first new commercial aircraft made in Japan in 50 years.
Known as the MRJ, the jet comes in several sizes, seating between 76 and 92 passengers. That puts the plane in direct competition with similar models from Bombardier and Embraer. At a plant in Nagoya, technicians and engineers have spent weeks assembling parts and slapping paint on the first models, which poised to begin testing next spring in Japan and in Moses Lake, Wash. Mitsubishi says is already has a backlog of 375 orders and options from a diverse roster of customers, ranging from Myanmar's Mandalay to Miami-based Eastern Airlines (a startup trying to revive the storied name.) Japan Airlines is expected to confirm an order for 32 more planes.
Typical of such projects, the MRJ is well behind schedule. First deliveries are now set for 2017, three and a half years behind the original target date. That's mainly due to delays in getting the necessary airworthiness approvals. Still expectations within the company are riding high: Mitsubishi predicts it will claim half the market within 20 years.
Why so brash? Mitsubishi says the jets are quieter and guzzle less gas than competitors, partly because of new Pratt and Whitney engines. The MRJs should also win high marks from passengers, as Mitsubishi eked out more space from the notoriously cramped confines of an RJ cabin. Moving the baggage hold from below the cabin floor to the back of the fuselage, for example, allowed for higher ceilings. The fuselage will accommodate seats as wide as 18. 5 inches, a full inch more than what comes on some RJ seat models.
That said, the RJ serves a limited market: Principally airports in cities that are too small to justify a full-size aircraft. But that market is expected to grow, with more than 4,000 regional jets expected to be delivered over the next decade and a half. Other wannabes like Russia's Sukoi have struggled, however, and the MRJ still faces a long journey to takeoff.
