Mitsubishi signs potential first European jet orders
Japan's Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp on Monday said it had signed a letter of intent for orders of its new regional passenger plane with Swedish leasing company Rockton, in what would be its first European sale.
The deal is for 10 firm orders with an option for an additional 10 and the two companies said they expected a definitive agreement "in the near future" in a statement on the sidelines of the Farnborough air show, southwest of London.
Deliveries are set to begin in 2020.
Hiromichi Morimoto, president of Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp, said the deal would give the MRJ90 programme a "burst of momentum to expand customer base in Europe".
The MRJ90 is Japan's first domestically-made commercial aircraft for about half a century.
Japan -- and its MRJ jet -- are competing with other regional passenger jet manufacturers such as Brazil's Embraer and Canada's Bombardier.
Mitsubishi unveiled the jet -- which is 35 metres (115 feet) long and seats about 80 passengers -- in October 2014.
The short-to-medium-haul plane was backed by the Japanese government and a consortium of major firms including Toyota.
"We find the MRJ airliner to be an exceptional product," Niklas Lund, president of Rockton, said in the statement.
"This new aircraft will provide crucial economic benefits to airlines looking to operate in the 70-90 passenger size segment," he said.