Mitsubishi Celebrates MRJ Rollout; First Flight Scheduled for Q2 2015

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation held a rollout ceremony on Saturday for the MRJ (Mitsubishi Regional Jet).

The rollout ceremony, which was broadcast live over the internet, was held at the Komaki Minami Plant of MHI’s Nagoya Aerospace Systems Works in Aichi Prefecture.

It was attended by numerous distinguished guests, including Akihiro Nishimura, State Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT); Hideki Niwa, State Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT); Atsuo Kuroda, Director-General, Manufacturing Industries Bureau, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and Shinichiro Ito, President and CEO of ANA Holdings Inc., the launch customer. From MHI and Mitsubishi Aircraft, respectively, chairman Hideaki Omiya and president and COO Teruaki Kawai, as well as executives of the two companies, were present.

Mr. Omiya said, “A product ‘Made in Japan’ – a product offering the highest levels of both operating economy and cabin comfort – is at long last about to leave the realm of dreams and become a reality ... It’s with utmost confidence and pride that we will soon be sending the MRJ out into the world.”

Mitsubishi Regional Jet is a family of 70~90-seat next-generation aircraft featuring Pratt & Whitney’s PurePower engine and state-of-the-art aerodynamics to reduce fuel consumption, noise, and emissions.

MHI and Mitsubishi Aircraft are now working towards the MRJ’s first flight, which is scheduled for Q2 2015. First deliveries are expected to take place in 2017.

2011 - HD Video Interview About MRJ

At the Asian Aerospace 2011 that took place between 8 and 10 March in Hong Kong, ASIATravelTips.com interviewed Mr. Hitoshi Hank Iwasa to learn more about this brand new regional jet from Mitsubishi. You can watch the interview here.