Mitsubishi Heavy scraps regional SpaceJet project due to market uncertainty and less funding

A once-hyped effort to restore Japan’s aircraft manufacturing industry came to an end on 7 February with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries announcing that it will abandon its regional jet project. Mitsubishi Heavy had been forced to postpone deliveries of the Mitsubishi SpaceJet six times because of issues with the project, which was intended to create Japan’s first domestically-manufactured aircraft in nearly fifty years. The company had expected to complete the very first delivery in 2013. The Mitsubishi regional jet project has been in development since 2002 when the idea to build a compact, eco-friendly passenger aircraft was first brought forth by the industry ministry. In 2008, Mitsubishi Heavy launched Mitsubishi Aircraft in Nagoya after agreeing to the project. Since Nihon Aircraft Manufacturing’s YS-11 turboprop, which had stopped production in 1974, the Mitsubishi SpaceJet’s development effectively marked the first domestic effort to manufacture a commercial aircraft. The public-private project, in which Mitsubishi Heavy reportedly invested approximately ¥1 trillion ($7.6 billion), was put on hold in October 2020 after the COVID-19 pandemic took a toll on the demand for aircraft. According to Seiji Izumisawa, CEO of Mitsubishi Heavy, the project was abandoned for a number of reasons including a lack of funding and uncertain market prospects. Izumisawa added that it would take “quite a lot” of time and resources to make the project profitable. He further stated that the corporation does not believe there is significant business potential to resume the project given the uncertainty of the regional jet market in light of the pandemic. In addition, he claimed that Mitsubishi Heavy did not have the know-how for the requirements for obtaining an aviation safety certification. The company was having trouble becoming certified in the United States and had to make a lot of modifications, which caused the delivery date to be postponed. Mitsubishi Heavy once had over 450 airline orders for Mitsubishi SpaceJets. However, many of them were later cancelled. This was due to the need for cost-cutting in some of those airlines, but the Mitsubishi SpaceJet M90 model, which has about 90 seats, also was not in compliance with the “scope clause”- a provision of the U.S. pilots’ contract with major airlines that restricts the size of aircraft that are permitted to fly on regional routes. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.