Mitsubishi reveals ‘SpaceJet’ aircraft line to be released in 2020
Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation revealed the name of its line of regional planes on Thursday.
The company -- part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries -- announced the SpaceJet regional aircraft line, which includes an updated model that is set to be released next year and plans for a larger aircraft, according to a news release.
Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation revealed its line of regional planes, called SpaceJet, on Thursday. (Courtesy of Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation)
The cabin interior of the M100 -- the larger plane -- will be debuted at the Paris Air Show next week, from June 17 to June 20, and the program for the plane will formally begin later this year, according to the release.
Meanwhile, the M90 -- previously known as the MRJ90 -- is set to be released in 2020. It has already begun flight tests in Washington state with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as well as the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB).
The fuel-efficient M90 can seat 88 passengers and travel about 1,300 miles, or 2,120 km, according to the website.
The SpaceJet planes are also said to have the tallest cabin, larger overhead bins and no middle seat, in the name of “delivering ultimate comfort for passengers.”
Mitsubishi claims their SpaceJet planes will have the tallest cabin, larger overhead bins and no middle seat, in the name of “delivering ultimate comfort for passengers.” (Courtesy of Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation)
“The regional market is an attractive one, full of untapped growth potential,” Alex Bellamy, Mitsubishi Aircraft’s chief development officer said in the release. “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.”
Mitsubishi Aircraft opened a new headquarters in the U.S. in Renton, Wash., in May, according to the release, in order to tap into the American market.
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The company has struggled with delays for several years, Reuters reported, though by 2017 Mitsubishi Aircraft was on track to deliver its commercial jet by 2020. The planes were originally set to be delivered in 2013.
"We are proceeding pretty much in line with plans," Hisakazu Mizutani, president of Mitsubishi Aircraft, said in Dec. 2017, referring to the mid-2020 deadline. "We can just about make it."
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Meanwhile, aircraft manufacturer Boeing is still struggling with continued cancellations of its 737 Max aircraft.
On Sunday, American Airlines announced it has extended its cancellation of the planes through Sept. 3.
The airline, which is the largest U.S. carrier, said the cancellations would affect approximately 115 flights per day. American previously announced in April that it would cancel flights on the 737 Max through Aug. 19 due to the FAA’s mandatory grounding of the Boeing jet.
Fox Business' Matthew Kazin and Reuters contributed to this report.