Two companies completely dominate the aircraft manufacturing business — Europe’s Airbus and the United States’ Boeing (BA). Could a Japanese interloper disrupt this polar system?
We’ll get our first look at the attempt on Saturday, as Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation will be rolling out its new Regional Jet. According to Reuters, this is the first Japanese company to attempt to get into the aircraft manufacturing business in more than 50 years.
The unveiling of the jet will be live-streamed at 2 p.m. Japan time on Saturday, which will be in the middle of the night on the East Coast.
The Mitsubishi Regional Jet will be a single-aisle plane with four seats in each row. Depending on the configuration, the plane will seat up to around 90 passengers.
Mitsubishi already has a few clients lined up, with Japan Airlines announcing in August it would purchase 32 planes, and Eastern Airlines signing on for 40 just last month. More than 300 planes are currently on-order.
There are, of course, other companies making planes, such as Brazil’s Embraer.
Toyota Motor Corporation (TM) has a 10% stake in Mitsubishi Aircraft, which was founded in 2008.