FARNBOROUGH, Britain -- Japan's first domestically produced passenger jet made its first public demonstration flight on Monday at Britain's Farnborough International Airshow 2018.
The Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ), developed by Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp., displayed its advanced state of development and high performance in areas such as noise reduction in front of an audience of aviation industry insiders at one of the world's top airshows.
"This demo flight is a major breakthrough," Mitsubishi Aircraft President Hisakazu Mizutani told The Yomiuri Shimbun and other media after the flight. "I'm glad we could show off the MRJ's capabilities."
Mitsubishi Aircraft has so far received orders for 407 MRJs, although the last order came in 2016.
"Performance-wise, the MRJ belongs to the next generation of aircraft. It's highly competitive, and I hope it will grab a large share of the under 100-seat market," said Shunichi Miyanaga, president of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., the parent company of Mitsubishi Aircraft.
However, obstacles remain on the path to that goal.
In July, major European aircraft maker Airbus SE purchased the small passenger jet business of Canada's Bombardier Inc. Meanwhile, Boeing Co. of the United States has announced it will establish a partnership between its passenger jet division and that of Brazil's Embraer SA, a major rival of Mitsubishi Aircraft in the regional jet market. Competition in the sector is rapidly changing.
Dennis Muilenburg, chief executive officer of Boeing, said at a press conference on Monday his company would continue to work with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Yet concerns remain that Boeing's joining hands with a rival of MRJ will affect the Japanese company's business.
"If circumstances change, [Boeing] could change the relationship," said Kazuki Sugiura, a visiting professor at Tokyo Metropolitan University and an expert on the aviation industry.
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