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发帖数: 2299 | 1 Japan Enters the Passenger Jet Business
Mitsubishi is planning a test flight of the first ever made-in-Japan
passenger jet next month, marking the country’s first foray into the
commercial aircraft business in decades.
Japan’s Mitsubishi plans to go head-to-head with small jet manufacturers
Embraer and Bombardier with the introduction of the company’s new
Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ). According to company officials, the MRJ will
make its first test flight in late October, departing from Mitsubishi
Aircraft’s headquarters at Nagoya Airfield (NKM).
When it enter production, the MRJ will be the first ever made-in-Japan
passenger jet and signify the first time a Japanese company has tried to
crack the commercial passenger plane market since 1983.
According to a Bloomberg report, the company has already taken orders for
the new MRJ aircraft from Japan’s two largest airlines — All Nippon
Airways and Japan Airlines. Mitsubishi has won even larger orders from North
American regional carriers SkyWest Airlines and Trans States Airlines. With
sales centers recently opened in Europe and North America, the company
claims 407 orders for its new jet with an additional 184 options for
purchase.
“This battle is going to get nasty,” Addison Schonland, a partner at
aviation consultant AirInsight, told Bloomberg. “Embraer and Bombardier are
not going to give up the fight. We don’t know if there’s room for three
players. The pie’s not getting bigger.”
Mitsubishi Aircraft will manufacture both 78-seat and 92-seat MRJ models at
its production facilities at NKM. The company is benefiting from a pact with
Boeing, which will help to market Mitsubishi’s new regional jet and is
providing technical assistance on the project. The Japanese firm opened an
Seattle office in August, staffed with nearly 150 engineers to better access
technical and development expertise from its North American partner. |
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