Mitsubishi Aircraft targets Paris Air Show debut of regional jet

Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. is looking to display its new regional aircraft at the Paris Air Show in June as it seeks more overseas orders for Japan’s first passenger jet after delaying the plane’s debut five times. The company is working out details on how it can pull one of four aircraft currently undergoing flight testing in the US for the show, without causing further delays to deliveries, said Hisakazu Mizutani, who became president of Mitsubishi Aircraft this month. The planemaker expects to come to a decision soon on whether to show the aircraft at the event, he said. “There’d be merit in taking it to the show,” Mizutani said Wednesday. “We just need to make sure it doesn’t affect the testing process in doing so.” The Paris show, happening once every two years, alternates with the Farnborough Air Show in the UK as the aviation industry’s biggest event where new models go on display and plane orders are announced. The aircraft known as the Mitsubishi Regional Jet is set for completion in 2019 with its first delivery a year later. It will compete in the market for passenger jets with fewer than 100 seats, a segment currently dominated by Bombardier and Embraer.<br/>