Japan’s first ever passenger jet, the Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ), received a 100-plane order from U.S. regional airline Trans States. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, a outsourced supplier for the Boeing 787, is still continuing development on the 70-90 seat airliner. The company declined to say how much the order was worth, but the catalogue price for the order is valued around $2 billion – $4 billion total if the 50 options go through.
In 2008, the MRJ received an order from launch customer ANA (All Nippon Airways) for up to 25 planes. Deliveries for the new airliner are expected to begin in early 2014.
“This is a very proud moment for us. The world has high expectations for the MRJ. This is especially true in the U.S.”
- Hideo Egawa, president of Mitsubishi aircraft division.
Compared to jets in the same seat category, the plane is expected to cut fuel burn by 20-30 percent per hour. Trans States said that fuel costs are “very important.”
The aircraft uses a geared turbofan engine developed by Pratt & Whitney. The new technology is referred to as a fuel sipper, as the engine’s fans can operate at a different speed to the turbine. This same type engine is also used on Bombardier airplanes.
This is only the second Japanese made plane since the end of World War II – the first was the YS-11, but had very limited success.
Mitsubishi plans to build the aircraft at Mitsubishi Heavy’s factory in central Nagoya. They plan on producing 24 aircraft per year initially, but expect to increase the amount of 72.
Mitsubishi recently delayed the delivery date to revamp the design by increasing cabin / cargo space. Additionally, they switched from carbon-fiber to aluminum wings. Mitsubishi is advised by Boeing.
Image: http://www.mrj-japan.com/
