MIAMI – Canadian manufacturer Bombardier is rolling out the final Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) from their plant in Mirabel, Quebec. Bombardier sold the line of regional jets to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) in a deal finalized this past June.
The CRJ has been produced in its various iterations since 1991, and has been a staple in the short haul market. While production of the -100 and -200 variants stopped in 2006, the CRJ-700 series (consisting of the -700, -550, -900, and -1000 variants) has been built from 1999 until now.
Japan’s Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation plans to integrate the CRJ series into their existing Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) ‘Spacejet’ program.
Mitsubishi’s SpaceJet fail leaves Japan’s aviation dreams in tatters (and coronavirus isn’t to blame) Mitsubishi’s SpaceJet project has effectively been grounded. Photo: Handout
Japan s Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation is putting a brave face on the news that it is planning to cut about 95 per cent of the employees working on its SpaceJet aircraft, insisting that the changes are merely a reorganisation of the project.
Analysts, however, say the cuts are effectively the final nail in the coffin of an aircraft that had massive government support and was meant to serve as the basis of a new Japanese aerospace industry.