Yahoo – AFP,
Antoine Bouthier, 18 Oct 2014
Guests look
at a Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) during a ceremony at the Nagoya
airport in Komaki,
Aichi prefecture on October 18, 2014 (AFP Photo/Toshifumi Kitamura)
|
Komaki
(Japan) (AFP) - The first passenger aircraft to be made in Japan in nearly four
decades was unveiled Saturday as its manufacturer pushed into the booming regional
jet sector with an eye to taking on industry giants Embraer and Bombardier.
Mitsubishi
Heavy Industries, a military contractor best known for its "Zero"
World War II fighter, pulled back the curtain on its new Mitsubishi Regional
Jet (MRJ), a fuel-efficient, next-generation aircraft that claims to offer more
passenger comfort with lower operating costs.
The jet,
which will be delivered to customers from 2017 and was built with assistance
from aviation giant Boeing, was unveiled at a ceremony in Komaki, near the
central city of Nagoya, on Saturday.
"The
dream of a Japanese-made product that can be proudly presented to the world for
top-notch efficiency and top-notch passenger comfort is finally coming
true," said Mitsubishi Heavy Industries chairman Hideaki Omiya.
"This
wonderful aircraft that Japan has created after (a wait of) half a century
carries with it many people's hopes and dreams."
The plane
marks a new chapter for Japan's aviation sector, which last built a commercial
airliner in 1962 -- the YS-11 turboprop. It was discontinued about a decade
later.
Teruaki
Kawai, president and chief operating officer of Mitsubishi Aircraft, recently
said that the plane boasted "state-of-the-art aerodynamic design, and a
game-changing engine (that) will significantly cut fuel consumption, noise and
emissions, helping airlines enhance competitiveness and profitability in the
future".
Japanese
firms were banned from developing aircraft by US occupiers following its defeat
in World War II.
The country
slowly started rebuilding its aviation industry in the 1950s, starting with
carrying out repair work for the US military, before expanding its scope to
start licensed production of US-developed aircraft for Japan's military.
Japanese firms have also long supplied parts to Boeing.
Eye on
2020 Tokyo Olympics
Mitsubishi's
short-to-medium-haul regional jet, which comes in a 70- and 90-seat version,
was backed by the Japanese government and a consortium of major firms including
Toyota, with research and development costs of around 180 billion yen ($1.7
billion).
A
Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) moves into the hanger for a ceremony at the Nagoya
airport in Komaki, Aichi prefecture on October 18, 2014 (AFP
Photo/Toshifumi Kitamura)
|
The company
has secured 375 orders and options from carriers including All Nippon Airways
(ANA), US-based Trans States Holdings, and SkyWest.
Japan
Airlines (JAL) has also signed a Letter of Intent for 32 MRJs, which have a
list price of $40 million, to be used on domestic flights.
The MRJ
project got off the ground in 2008 after ANA agreed to buy two dozen of the
planes.
But it
quickly hit trouble as the global economic downturn battered the aviation
industry, forcing many carriers to slash jobs and routes.
The project
took off again as Tokyo tried to lure more overseas visitors ahead of the 2020
summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.
The
Japanese government is also aiming to expand firms' foothold in the global
aviation and military sectors as the domestic market shrinks due to a rapidly
ageing population.
Guests look
at a Mitsubishi Regional
Jet (MRJ) during a ceremony at the Nagoya
airport in
Komaki, Aichi prefecture on
October 18, 2014 (AFP Photo/Toshifumi
Kitamura)
|
Mitsubishi
pointed to expected global demand of 5,000 regional jets over the next two
decades.
"Five
thousand is not a small number," Kawai told the Wall Street Journal in an
interview published this month.
"I'm
claiming we can get 50 percent of that. That's what we are aiming at right now.
But in 20 years, I'm saying, not in three to five years, if our research is
correct. We have to be ambitious.
"For a
long time, Japan has been successful in industries such as automobiles,"
he said. "It should last, but we need to find new industries. Aircraft
manufacturing can be one of them."
Automaker
Honda is also developing a business jet, with its first delivery expected next
year in North America and Europe.
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