Mitsubishi Aircraft Says First Japan-made Regional Jet To Be Delayed By One Year

(RTTNews) - Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. said Thursday that Japan's first domestically-produced commercial jet will be delayed by one year, marking the fourth delay in bringing the aircraft to market.

Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. and its parent Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHVYF.PK) said they will change the first delivery schedule of the Mitsubishi Regional Jet or MRJ, from the second quarter of 2017 to about one year later.

The aircraft was slated to be delivered to Japan's biggest carrier ANA Holdings Inc. in the April-June quarter of 2017.

Mitsubishi Aircraft and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries or MHI said that the first flight and subsequent flight tests have confirmed the basic characteristics of the aircraft to be satisfactory. But following inputs from U.S. experts, they have recognized several issues that need to be further investigated.

"In order to tackle these issues and address the perspectives below, we have reviewed and revised our overall schedule," the companies said in a statement.

The companies noted that they have made revisions of test items to complete a better-integrated aircraft and it has been reflected in the new delivery schedule. Looking ahead, the companies said they will "increase the precision of the schedule" as work progresses.

The companies also said they will carry out the flight test campaign in North America as soon as feasible.

The MRJ is the first passenger jet to be developed in Japan in more than 50 years. The first flight test of the aircraft, which can seat up to 92 people, was in November 2015.

The jet is expected to increase competition for players such as Brazil's Embraer SA and Canada's Bombardier Inc. The $47 million aircraft will be powered by fuel-efficient engines from Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp. (UTX).

Japan's last homegrown passenger plane was the propeller-driven YS-11, launched in 1962 by Nihon Aircraft Manufacturing Corp., which sold 182 planes before it stopped production in 1974 as debts mounted for Nihon.

Nihon was a consortium that comprised Mitsubishi Heavy, Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. and Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd.