Spirit AeroSystems has officially entered the regional jet market after it was selected by Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation to design and build engine pylons for the MRJ.
The company plans to perform pylon work at its facility in Wichita, Kansas. Spirit currently builds pylons for every Boeing commercial aircraft in production.
"Mitsubishi selected Spirit to participate in this new venture because of its long legacy as a world-class builder of commercial aircraft," says Nobuo Toda, president of Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. "We're confident our new relationship with Spirit will be a successful one."
The MRJ70 and MRJ90 models offer a seating range of 70 to 96 seats, but recently a senior Mitsubishi executive said the carrier is examining a stretched 112-seat version of the aircraft, and would likely made decision regarding a larger version after design freeze of the current MRJ models next year.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
