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Japan’s First Passenger Jet Lands $40b Order

TOKYO — An ambitious project to build Japan’s first ever passenger jet received a huge boost on Friday, landing a 100-plane order worth up to $40 billion from a US regional airline.

The state-backed Mitsubishi Regional Jet, or MRJ, is expected to take to the skies in 2014, carrying Japan’s hopes of developing a full-fledged civil aviation industry with it.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the company developing the 70-90 seat airliner, announced that it had signed a letter of intent with US carrier Trans States for 50 firm orders and the same number of options.

Mitsubishi declined to say how much the latest deal was worth, but the catalogue price of each jet is $400 million.

It is the second order for the MRJ, which aims to meet growing demand for fuel-efficient planes.

The project officially got off the ground in 2008 after launch customer All Nippon Airways agreed to buy up to 25 of the jets, the first of which are scheduled to be delivered in early 2014.

But it quickly flew into turbulence as the global economic downturn unleashed a severe slump in the aviation industry that forced many carriers to slash jobs and routes to keep flying.

“This is a very proud moment for us,” said Hideo Egawa, president of Mitsubishi’s aircraft division.

“The world has high expectations for the MRJ. This is especially true in the US,” where airlines operate jets of up to 90 seats on many routes, Egawa said. —