Mitsubishi have been working away in the background, and have announced a re-brand of their Mitsubishi Regional Jet, along with an announcement of a smaller model.
Introducing – the Mitsubishi SpaceJet.
The new designations are:
- SpaceJet M90 (previously the MRJ-90)
- SpaceJet M100 (new model)
The M100 is the interesting part, as it has been developed from the MRJ-70 study – which will seat from 65-76 for a US carrier who is restricted by scope clauses, and be able to seat up to 88 for other markets.
Mitsubishi are pushing the concept of comfort for the passenger in this regional jet, with them promising a spacious cabin to improve the passenger experience.
The aircraft according to the manufacturer will feature the widest and tallest cabin in its class, the roomiest economy seat and the most overhead bin capacity – one roller bag per passenger, eliminating the need for gate-check baggage.
The company will debut the SpaceJet M100 cabin interior at the Paris Air Show – which should provide a chance to see what Mitsubishi can do with a 76 seat cabin. The first preview of this was reported online on Saturday.
SpaceJet interior …. look’n mighty spacious. Proud to be powering the SpaceJet with the PW1200G Geared Turbofan from Pratt & Whitney. #WeArePW #SpaceJet #PAS19 pic.twitter.com/OuKP4IanXW
— Jim Speich (@seejimfly) June 15, 2019
In quotes
Hisakazu Mizutani, President, Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation said:
“The SpaceJet family represents our plan to redefine the business of regional air travel,”
“This is a commercial segment where we see great opportunity. As we prepare for entry-into-service for the SpaceJet M90, we are also announcing the SpaceJet M100 – the result of our research and development during the past few years and the answer to the regional market’s current and future needs. These products mark our dedication to a segment in desperate need of change that will allow airlines to enhance the satisfaction of their passengers and significantly improve their business performance.”
Alex Bellamy, Chief Development Officer, Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation said
“The regional market is an attractive one, full of untapped growth potential,”
“Millions of people around the world rely on regional air travel to get to where they need to go. There is no reason that their experience as passengers should not be as good as or better than on a mainline flight. The SpaceJet family provides the missing link in a curb-to-curb experience for the next generation of travelers, while bringing a higher level of value to a neglected and undervalued market segment.”
M90 targets 2020 entry into service
With the M90 Spacejet targeted for entry into service in 2020, the race is on for certification of the type and then moving onto delivery.
However, the talk of the show won’t be this new frame – rather the talks that Mitsubishi is having with Bombardier to purchase the CRJ programme that broke last week – which could be the way the SpaceJets will enter the market, by leveraging a built up in the current CRJ supply and support chain, and moving customers on toe M90/M100 platform as they need to renew or replace CRJ frames.
It’ll be interesting if carriers take an intrest in the M100 and M90 frames – as well as further CRJ frames at Paris next week.
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