Mitsubishi Loses 100 Aircraft Contract for Failing US Regulations

Mitsubishi Aircraft  has lost a deal to sell 100 SpaceJet M90 aircraft to US regional carrier company, Trans States Holdings (TSH) as the planes fail a US scope clause that limits the size of aircraft flown on regional routes and some other conditions.

The Japanese manufacturer said its SpaceJet M90, which can seat about 90 passengers, "does not meet the requirements" of the American market.

Mitsubishi Aircraft said future discussions with TSH will focus on its SpaceJet M100 aircraft, which was newly introduced in June and meets the U.S. scope clause requirements. The design of SpaceJet M100 can be modified to accommodate between 65 and 88 passengers.

Scheduled delivery dates for the SpaceJet M90 had been pushed back five times to the middle of next year due to development delays. Under a 2009 deal between the two companies, Missouri-based TSH placed orders for 50 passenger jets -- then called the Mitsubishi Regional Jet -- and tentative orders for another 50. TSH runs three regional carriers in the US.

"When we established our contract with TSH, the outlook for the regional market was very different. The scope clause has not been relaxed as anticipated," Mitsubishi Aircraft President Hisakazu Mizutani said in a press release.

Mizutani said the company, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., has shifted to the SpaceJet M100 to be responsive to the market realities in the United States. The three U.S. regional carriers under the TSH wing are Trans States Airlines, Compass Airlines and GoJet Airlines.