Mitsubishi sees an opportunity to change the aircraft sales conversation in Latin America with its 70-seat MRJ70, Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation America chief executive Masao Yamagami tells Flightglobal.
The MRJ70, and also the larger MRJ90, fit a unique market niche, being smaller than most next-generation regional jets, making them ideal replacements for aging 50-seat passenger jets, he says.
“The MRJ70 could be the only aircraft in that range that could be a good replacement for 50-seaters,” he says. “Our MRJ70 and MRJ90 can cover the smaller part of the market with more flexibility.”
In a single-class layout the MRJ70 will carry 78 seats and the MRJ90 will carry 92 seats, according to Mitsubishi.
The company has just began flight tests, after an MRJ prototype took off from Nagoya on 11 November. The company plans to begin delivering MRJ90s in the second quarter of 2017, followed by the MRJ70 one year later.
“The pilot told us the aircraft is in very great shape and is easy to operate,” he says, adding that the flight uncovered no major unexpected problems.
Yamagami suggests airline executives try a “new way of thinking”, noting that MRJs would be ideal for operating high-frequency regional feeder routes from hubs. He adds that the types will have unit costs comparable to 737 Max 7s and A319neos,
Mitsubishi faces no shortage of competition, but Yamagami says the larger size of Embraer’s E-Jets E2 and Bombardier’s CSeries place those aircraft in closer competition with 737 Max 7s and A319neos.
In a dual-class configuration, Bombardier’s CS100 will carry about 108 seats, the CS300 will carry 130 seats and E2 jets will carry between 88 and 132 seats, according to those manufacturers.
“They need smaller airplanes,” Yamagami says of Latin American carriers, adding that Boeing or Airbus could significantly dampen demand for CSeries or E2s by aggressively pricing 737 Max 7s and A319neos.
Though major economies of Latin America have struggled in recent years, Yamagami expects deliveries could surge in 2017 or 2018.
The tough economic environment “might give us the advantage”, he says. “We can buy the time for the Latin market.”
Yamagami adds that Mitsubishi still intends to develop a stretched MRJ, possibly launching that project in the 2017 or 2018.
By then, Mitsubishi will have fully digested the characteristics of aircraft and will know to what degree it would need to redesign components like the wing or landing gear, he says.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
