Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation has entered negotiations with Mesa Air Group, the parent company of U.S. regional carrier Mesa Airlines, for a sale of up to a 100 SpaceJet M100 aircraft.
In particular, the two companies have entered formal purchase negotiations by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which targets 50 firm orders and options for 50 more, with deliveries to begin in 2024, Mitsubishi announced on September 5, 2019.
The SpaceJet M100 is the newer and smaller airliner in Mitsubishi SpaceJet aircraft family, officially announced on June 13, 2019. The airline has “evolved from a concept study” of what was previously dubbed the MRJ70. The jet is “perfectly matched to the United States and global markets alike,” the manufacturer said back then. In particular, it is specially targeted to meet scope clause restrictions in the United States.
Another aircraft in the family, SpaceJet M90, previously known by its production name MRJ90, is currently undergoing flight tests, which began in early March 2019. The regional jet has been in development since 2008 and was scheduled for first delivery in 2013. Now, the first deliveries for the launch customer All Nippon Airways are expected in 2020.
Mesa Airlines is a regional air carrier providing scheduled passenger service in the United States. Mesa operates all of its flights as either American Eagle or United Express flights pursuant to capacity purchase agreements with American Airlines (A1G) (AAL) and United Airlines. The airline has a fleet of 145 regional jets (as of August 31, 2019), including 85 Bombardier CRJ Series aircraft (CRJ-100, CRJ-700, CRJ-900) and 60 Embraer ERJ-170s.