Mitsubishi has confirmed that its SpaceJet aircraft, formerly known as the Mitsubishi Regional Jet, will now have its first delivery delayed from the middle of this year to late 2021 or early 2022.
The acknowledgement, which was made as part of its third quarter financial report states that the “first commercial delivery of SpaceJet is expected to be in FY2021 or later”. It confirms earlier media reports of the delay.
Development of the Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ)/ SpaceJet started in 2008 and the aircraft was originally scheduled to enter into service during 2013. The latest nine-month postponement is the sixth time that the MRJ / SpaceJet, has been delayed after both technical and legal problems.
Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation has also recently announced that the SpaceJet M90 is entering the final phase of certification flight testing in the coming months.
The MRJ was to be produced in 70-seat and 90-seat capacity versions, known as the MRJ70 and MRJ90.
Last year Mitsubishi rebranded the regional jet aircraft family and reorganized the program, cancelling the 70-seat variant and replacing it with a 76-seat airplane called the SpaceJet M100. The SpaceJet M90, which has been undergoing flight testing at Mitsubishi’s Moses Lake, Washington state facility will seat up to 88 passengers.
