Trans-States, the US regional carrier, placed firm orders for 50 MRJs with 50 options last Friday in what is likely to be a major shift in the aviation world.The order catapults Mitsubishi Aircraft onto the world stage, and puts the pressure on its competitors. China's Comac ARJ-21 and the Russian Sukhoi Superjet have yet to make that kind of impact, even though they have been globally marketed for a long while. It also throws the gauntlet down to the incumbents Bombardier and Embraer.
Mitsubishi Aircraft has spent the 20 months since the MRJ's launch talking to potential customers and refining its programme. It announced several key changes in September, and those refinements benefit both the programme and meet the customers' requirements.
It is no surprise, therefore, that the company has received an order from Trans-States, which flew 3.5 million passengers in 2008 and is a feeder airline for United Airlines, US Airways and American Airlines. It now has a fleet of 23 Embraer regional jets and operates some 300 daily flights to over 60 destinations.
The airline has obviously done its homework and realised that it needs a game-changing aircraft to meet its future requirements, and MRJ has snagged a customer that is a major player in the US regional jet market.
With this order, the Mitsubishi MRJ regional jet is no longer just another aircraft programme. It is a serious contender, and it is now up to the others to respond.
on October 6, 2009 10:43 PM | Reply
You know, they have still not clearly defined what Boeing's role is gonna be. I keep asking and wondering. It should be something to check on later on.