[blackwasp]

According to a media report, the Mitsubishi Regional Jet began certification flights last month in Moses Lake, Washington. The aircraft would be the first Japanese airline built since the 1960s. The company is expected to start deliveries next year.

The regional airline market is estimated to be worth US$ 135 billion in sales in the next 20 years. Rival Boeing is acquiring an 80% stake in Embraer’s commercial operations while Bombardier sold its C Series project to Airbus last year.

The MRJ will be offered in 76 and 88 seat configurations powered by Pratt & Whitney’s geared turbofan engines, which are claimed to offer reduced maintenance time and cost. The smaller plane has a range of 1,880 – 3,740 km while the 88-seat option can travel 2,120 – 3,770 km without refueling. The company has also planned a 100-seat aircraft.

Mitsubishi had initially planned test flights in 2012, but it was delayed to 2015 due to production difficulties.







Source: Bloomberg

Link to the Team-BHP News

[SmartCat]

Japanese are leaders in automobiles. They are pioneers in high speed train technology. Couple of decades ago, pretty much all ships were made in Japan.

Any idea why Japanese never succeeded in building aircraft? Kawasaki and Mitsubishi made thousands of aircraft in 1940s.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...g_World_War_II

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by SmartCat

Japanese are leaders in automobiles. They are pioneers in high speed train technology. Couple of decades ago, pretty much all ships were made in Japan.
Any idea why Japanese never succeeded in building aircraft? Kawasaki and Mitsubishi made thousands of aircraft in 1940s.

After World War-II the Allies as a part of their occupation disbanded the entire aeronautical industry of Japan to the last bolt and nut. Japan was banned from designing or building aircraft for a long time. On paper the ban was lifted in 1952 but in practice continued for some more years. Japan did design and build its own first jet aircraft the Fuji F-1 advanced trainer in the late 1950s with help from the US but I believe the enormous cost and national effort needed to design & build an airliner from scratch and create the eco system of aircraft part suppliers and testing know-how was a deterrent. Japan did produce an indigenous regional propeller airliner the NAMC YS-11 in the 1960s which looked very similar to the Indian Airlines Avro but the aircraft while technically sound was too expensive to be a real commercial success.

Mitsubishi's MRJ is a bold step forward in a world that needs more players and a break away from the gripping duopoly of Boeing and Airbus. Both Mitsubishi and the Chinese COMAC deserve success to give airlines and the flying public more choice. Embraer & Bombardier the two makers of regional jets are now subsidiaries of Boeing and Airbus and Fokker the original pioneer of regional jets has gone out of the aircraft design & making business.

I may be wrong but the complacency of winking and looking the other way between the FAA and Boeing on the 737 MAX may not have occurred in an industry environment with stiffer and more biting competition.

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Both Mitsubishi and the Chinese COMAC deserve success to give airlines and the flying public more choice.

The MRJ is indeed a bold move.

I remember how ANA used to fly a B737 all Business Class Jet from Tokyo to Mumbai; and knowing the Japanese, they'd have felt so bad not being to fly their own product in their own airline.

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

I may be wrong but the complacency of winking and looking the other way between the FAA and Boeing on the 737 MAX may not have occurred in an industry environment with stiffer and more biting competition.

Absolutely right, Sir.

Competition= End of complacency.

[ads11]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

I may be wrong but the complacency of winking and looking the other way between the FAA and Boeing on the 737 MAX may not have occurred in an industry environment with stiffer and more biting competition.

Ouch! Isn't that a bit of a stinging rebuke! I think I can see your line of reasoning. The FAA eroded a lot of goodwill and credence with their reticence to issue the ban in spite of the rest of the world doing so. They've only gone and shot themselves in the foot.

I am however totally in favour of this MRJ. More diversity the better. It was a shame that US political interests backed Bombardier into such a corner that only with Airbus' help were they able to get their hard work (C-series) out to the market. As soon as Boeing realised they couldn't get any further blocking it now that it wore an Airbus badge they did the simple thing and just bought Embraer.

I remember the Honda Jet with it's unique overwing engines featuring on new Top Gear a few seasons ago and it seemed pretty neat. Honda actually feature it a lot in their flagship adverts for their many products. I wonder if it's had much success.



Similarly the Japanese equivalent of the P-3 Orion, or the P-8 Poseidon, the quad engined Kawasaki P -1 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawasaki_P-1), doesn't seem to have taken off either. I remember it being touted as an option for the UK and India before they bought decided to smartly join the now vibrant P-8 community. Which is a shame because the P-1 does seem an interesting jet that was meant to birth a family of other products too (see attached Wiki). Heck they even designed their own turbo fan engine for it! And anyone who knows it's really engine design that holds back money competitors like their neighbours across the sea. So it's clear the Japanese do have the skills! Yes in the military domain constitutional terms held them back (these are loosening and have been under Abe in recent years). Dunno why their big export projects haven't found takers (see the Australian Collins class sub replacement programme - the French won out over the Japanese; see the Shinmaywa US-2 deal for India, that seems to be going nowhere too..)



COMAC is the big one in the background. If they have the full weight of Chinese govt support behind them and an inside line into the massive domestic market of theirs, they could in principle make huge strides in market share just based on home sales alone.

Oh and I do believe the Russians have a solitary jetliner - the Irkut MC-21 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irkut_MC-21). It boasts a few sales though I imagine it's more about keeping the aviation skills in country from atrophying.

[Malyaj]

A welcome addition to the world of commercial aircraft. They will have their work cut out though. Turboprops still dominate the regional airliner market, though not by a huge margin. For some reason RJs never really gained popularity with Indian carriers. Of course it could be sheer coincidence that the ones which did use RJs (Air India - Bombardier CRJ), Paramount and Air Costa (Embraer RJs) weren't very well managed airlines to begin with.

RJs also have higher operating costs compared to Turboprops, which could result in higher fare and hence fewer takers in the price sensitive Indian market. Let's hope Mitsubishi gives it its best shot and I hope I can travel on one soon. Looks smashing in the OEM livery.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Mitsubishi's MRJ is a bold step forward in a world that needs more players and a break away from the gripping duopoly of Boeing and Airbus.

How well-funded is their airline division? Their automotive division was too cash-strapped to invest $$$ in new cars & technology. Heck, they are still selling the same Pajero / Montero model since 20 years! That's why Mitsubishi went with Renault-Nissan.

I would imagine that jets entail far higher R&D budgets than mass market cars.

[ads11]

Originally Posted by GTO

How well-funded is their airline division? Their automotive division was too cash-strapped to invest $$$ in new cars & technology. Heck, they are still selling the same Pajero / Montero model since 20 years! That's why Mitsubishi went with Renault-Nissan.

I would imagine that jets entail far higher R&D budgets than mass market cars.

I wonder if the airline division operates in a manner almost independent like SAAB for example. We still have their aerospace and defence company (those familiar with any of the IAF's long running new jet deal will know how the SAAB Grippen was/is (??) a contender) but their road car division long went kaput. Perhaps then the airline division of Mitsubishi is an entirely separate entity to the road car division.
So a quick Wiki shows that the parent brand is Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsub...avy_Industries)

Besides being part of the Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance, it is also a part of Mitsubishi keiretsu, formerly the biggest industrial group in Japan, and the company was originally formed in 1970 from the automotive division of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

On 1 April 2008, MHI established Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation as a subsidiary to develop and produce the MRJ or Mitsubishi Regional Jet, a 70 to 90 passenger regional airliner. MHI is the majority shareholder of the new company, with Toyota Motor Corporation owning 10%.

So I guess the airline division shouldn't really have any problems getting money as it's part of a much larger diversified manufacturing entity that doesn't really depend on cars at all. All this being said, the Japanese govt is well known for plowing money into projects regardless of losses if they feel it is beneficial to security of domestic industry and skills and security too (see their grossly expensive F-2 - basically a enlarged Japanese F-16)

PS: Sorry for the image uploading mistakes GTO, clearly not paid enough attention recently.

[Sutripta]

Mitsubishi buys Bombardier's CRJ business.
Why?

Regards
Sutripta

[the_skyliner]

Originally Posted by Sutripta

Mitsubishi buys Bombardier's CRJ business.
Why?

Regards
Sutripta

Multiple reasons but few major ones are:

1. It could provide the much required push to MRJ in the US market with acquired CRJ MRO base and engineering expertise. The CRJ SCM and MRO base could be used to lure the potential customers for MRJ in the US and even the FAA for certifying MRJ.

2. Mitsubishi gets rid of the lawsuit regarding trade secrets from Bombardier.

3. It's relatively cheap to buy at $550mil considering the traction it has in regional jet market and considering the fact that is 30 years old program.

4. For Bombardier the only money making sector in CRJ was MRO which will further get an upgrade from Mitsubishi that means they can encash some of the investment through that route.

In the end, it's a strategic buy for Mitsubishi.

[ads11]

I remember reading a report from the recent Paris Air Show that apparently Bombardier is quitting the airline business in its entirety!
I'm guessing Mitsubishi must have seen an opportunity here and decided to swoop in. I don't know much more about the Bombardier deal and if they really have decided to call it quits but surely that's bad news for the industry to lose another player.

[the_skyliner]

Originally Posted by ads11

I remember reading a report from the recent Paris Air Show that apparently Bombardier is quitting the airline business in its entirety!

I don't think that is Bombardier's plan. Business jet business is booming for them and is a cash cow too. They are in fact in process of ramping up all business jet programs and will use proceedings from recent and future asset/business sale to enable that.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by ads11

I remember reading a report from the recent Paris Air Show that apparently Bombardier is quitting the airline business in its entirety!

Originally Posted by the_skyliner

I don't think that is Bombardier's plan

Bombardier has sold the commercial aircraft project (CRJ) to Mistubishi. They'll focus on the private plane business now within aviation, and trains.

Bombardier has given up on commercial aviation, selling its regional jet business to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHVYF) for $550 million in cash.

Another tidbit:

The retreat comes less than two years after European aerospace group Airbus took control of Bombardier's C Series, which made planes with up to 130 seats. That jet is now called the Airbus A220.

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/06/26/b...ets/index.html