Japan: Mitsubishi may debut 70-seat test jet next year

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries expects a prototype of the 70-seat version of Japan's first home-grown commercial jetliner to be completed as early as 2018, joining the 90-seat model that has already been built. Subcontractors have started work on the larger pieces of the 70-seat Mitsubishi Regional Jet. The parts will be delivered around the summer. Once the 70-seater is built, Mitsubishi Heavy will temporarily suspend airframe fabrication for that and the 90-seat jet pending redesigns that will reroute the wiring. No orders for the smaller version have come in yet, but the 300-plus MRJs ordered by US regional airlines have contractual provisions allowing clients to switch to the 70-seat version. Mitsubishi Heavy aims to deliver the first mass-produced 90-seat plane by the middle of 2020, and the 70-seater one year later.<br/>