Japan Airlines (JAL) has signed a purchase agreement with Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp to buy 32 aircraft.
This follows on from an agreement by the carrier to purchase 27 planes from South American manufacturer, Embraer, due for delivery in 2015.
The Mitsubishi regional jets are expected to enter service in 2021 and will be deployed on JAL’s domestic routes, according to a Bloomberg report.
One of the big selling points of the Mitsubishi aircraft is that it reduces fuel consumption by more than 20 per cent, as compared to other regional airplane models. This puts it in line with JAL’s strategy to make its fleet more fuel-efficient, especially after coming back from bankruptcy in 2012.
Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp is in its third year of manufacturing planes and now has a total of 400 aircraft on order. Deliveries are expected to begin in 2017 following test flights next year.
According to Mitsubishi Aircraft, sales of its regional jet has been strong in Europe, Southeast Asia and North America – with US carrier Sky West being the largest customer thus far, with an order for 100 planes and options for an additional 100.
The company also expects to receive orders from Latin America and Africa in the near future.
For more information, visit jal.com
Clement Huang
