Mitsubishi: We'll be a player in regional jet market

Bart Jansen | USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Mitsubishi Aircraft projects airlines will want more than 5,000 regional jets over the next 20 years, and the manufacturer wants a piece of that market.

Regional jets already carry half of U.S. airline passengers, funneling travelers from smaller communities to larger cities or connecting flights. Canada's Bombardier and Brazil's Embraer have dominated the market for regional jets with 100 seats or fewer.

But as demand grows, Mitsubishi is promoting its next plane, the MRJ100X, for fuel efficiency from quieter engines and passenger comfort. The 18-inch seats will be as wide as Boeing's 787 Dreamliner configured with eight seats in a row.

"This really just a smaller-size mainline aircraft," Howard Thrall, senior vice president for Mitsubishi Aircraft America, told about 70 industry officials and reporters at a Japan International Transport Institute meeting Wednesday. "That's why we think this MRJ is going to compete and succeed in a very tough, competitive market."

Mitsubishi is aiming for a test flight by the end of the year and going into service in late 2015 or early 2016.

Mitsubishi jets have a range of about 2,000 nautical miles.

Airlines worldwide will want 5,280 regional jets over the next two decades, according to Mitsubishi. The company projects nearly one-third will be in North America, and one in five in each of Europe and Asia.

The growth is expected even as the fleet of 50-seat jets declines, as airlines abandon them as too small for economical jet-aircraft operations. In their wake, Mitsubishi is forecasting much greater demand for 70-seat to 100-seat jets.

Of concern to potential passengers on the jets, Thrall said the MRJ100 would be able to hold the largest roller bags allowed under International Air Transport Association guidelines, which are 22 inches by 18 inches by 10 inches.

The MRJ's aisle is 18 inches wide, which is narrower than the 19.75 inches of an Embraer 170 or 190. But Thrall said the 18-inch wide seats are the same as the Dreamliner with eight seats in a row, and wider than the 18.25-inch seats in Embraer 190 or 17.3-inch seats in Bombardier's CRJ.

"The idea of flying around in a regional jet is not one that has always been warm and fuzzy to me," Thrall said. "We focused a lot on what we could offer to the flying public in the way of enhanced experience."

The key to the fuel efficiency is quieter geared turbofan engines from Pratt & Whitney that turn slower and burn less fuel. Still, Bombardier's C-series planes could beat Mitsubishi to carrying passengers with those engines.

Bombardier, which just delayed its first test flight by a month, hopes to begin deliveries a year from now.

Another question for Mitsubishi is how the company will support the planes after delivering them to airlines. Mitsubishi has 165 orders for MRJ100 aircraft, of which 90% are in the USA.

The jets will be flying passengers within the USA by the end of the decade. Utah-based SkyWest has orders for 100 MRJs while Missouri-based Trans States has ordered 50.

Together, those two regional carriers offer feeder flights for all four of the biggest airlines, meaning MRJs could by flying for airlines such as United, American or Delta.

Thrall said Boeing will provide technical and material support, with training supported by CAE. But he said the U.S. network for maintenance, repairs and operation is still being developed.

"We're here to stay and this plane is going to be a player going forward," Thrall said. "It's going to have market share. It's going to be flying in the U.S."