Mitsubishi, Mesa to Explore Potential 100-Plane SpaceJet Deal

(Bloomberg) -- Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. got a boost for its long-delayed SpaceJet regional aircraft, as Mesa Air Group Inc. signed a pact to negotiate a potential 100-plane deal.

The memorandum of understanding, signed Thursday, calls for Mitsubishi and Mesa to discuss terms for a firm order of 50 SpaceJet M100 planes with purchase options for 50 more. Deliveries would begin in 2024, the companies said in a statement from a regional airline conference in Nashville, Tennessee.

The possible order by Phoenix-based Mesa would give the SpaceJet a bigger toehold in the U.S. market. In June, Mitsubishi renamed the aircraft, which had previously been known as the MRJ family, and said deliveries would begin in 2020. The jet is designed to carry 65 to 76 passengers in a three-class configuration or 88 seats in a single-class.

The SpaceJet M100 is small enough to comply with “scope clause” language in most U.S. pilot contracts, which limit the size of aircraft that regional airlines can fly for large carriers. Mesa flies 145 regional jets for American Airlines Group Inc. and United Airlines Holdings Inc.

The Japanese planemaker, part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., has suffered multiple delays in its $2 billion development of the aircraft as it reworked major aspects to reduce weight. Delivery to launch customer ANA Holdings Inc. has been delayed several times and is now expected next year.

Mitsubishi says the aircraft will burn 20% less fuel per trip than current regional jets of the same size due to newer geared turbofan engines from Pratt & Whitney, a division of United Technologies Corp. In June, Mitsubishi agreed to acquire Bombardier Inc.’s CRJ regional jet program for $550 million and about $200 million in liabilities.

To contact the reporter on this story: Justin Bachman in Dallas at jbachman2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Case at bcase4@bloomberg.net, Susan Warren

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