Mitsubishi jet in 1st flight, in step for Japan aviation

Mitsubishi took a step toward reclaiming Japan’s one-time status as an aviation power Wednesday.

About half a century after the last Japanese-made commercial plane took to the skies, the Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ), painted with dark blue, red and beige stripes, took off from Nagoya airport under clear skies for a 90-minute trip.

“Congratulations to MITAC – it’s a great day for everyone who has worked so hard to see this innovative airplane take flight for the first time”, said Dave Gitlin, President, UTC Aerospace Systems.

With Mitsubishi overcoming production issues that delayed planned flights in May and October, including the reworking of the MRJ’s cockpit pedals, a senior spokesperson for the jet is confident the MRJ’s long-term prospects are excellent. Regional air travel – smaller planes flying shorter routes, often to smaller cities – is a burgeoning segment of the aviation market globally.

The launch will intensify competition for orders with Brazil’s Embraer and Canada’s Bombardier. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference that the government will help promote the MRJ overseas. An escort plane followed the MRJ to observe the condition and behavior of the aircraft in flight.

Mitsubishi also aims to use the regional jet, which has just under 100 seats, to supplant Bombardier as the world’s second biggest maker of smaller passenger jets behind Embraer. Boeing Co. and Airbus Group SE control the market for larger passenger planes. “We’re studying the demand but haven’t made a decision yet”, he said.

A decade in the planning, design and manufacture, the two-engine aircraft has been developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Only 182 of the planes were sold.

When Japan was allowed to produce its own planes, it introduced the YS-11 turboprop in 1962 and manufactured it until 1971 – the past year it built and manufactured its own aircraft.

Mitsubishi Aircraft estimates the cost of developing the MRJ will be about ¥180 billion.

The catalog price for a 90-seat model is $47.3 million.

The two biggest customers for the MRJ are SkyWest and Trans States Airlines in North America. Domestically, Mitsubishi Aircraft has won orders from Japan Airlines in addition to ANA, Japan’s largest airline.