Mitsubishi Aircraft Aims to Turn Profit in 10 Years

NAGOYA, Japan, Sept. 24 (Reuters) – Mitsubishi Aircraft, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, expects to turn its regional jet business profitable in about 10 years when it will have cumulatively sold 500 planes, its president said.

Hideo Egawa also told Reuters in an interview that the company was in talks with 5-6 airlines and leasing companies on sales of the Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ), which it plans to start producing by early next month for delivery in 2014.

''We want to be making 6 jets a month in 4-5 years time after the product launch. If that manufacturing level continues for 6-7 years, that's when we should clear the break-even point,'' Egawa said at Mitsubishi Aircraft's headquarters in Nagoya, central Japan.

The MRJ will be built in 70-seat and 90-seat variants, placing it in competition with jets made by Brazilian group Embraer  and Canadian company Bombardier Inc. as well as jets designed by Russian and Chinese firms.

Egawa said the company plans to develop a 100-seat MRJ model by 2018 or earlier after the smaller models are successfully launched.

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