The acquisition Bombardier’s Canadair Regional Jet Program by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will enter into effect on 1 June 2020, nearly a year after it was first announced.
The Program will be operated under the newly created group entities of MHI RJ Aviation Group (MHIRJ).
As part of the acquisition, MHI acquires the maintenance, support, refurbishment, marketing, and sales activities for the CRJ Series aircraft, along with the type certificates. This includes the CRJ related services and support network mainly located in Mirabel, Québec, and Toronto, Ontario in Canada, Bridgeport, West Virginia, and Tucson, Arizona in the US. CRJ Spare parts will continue to be distributed from depots in Chicago, Illinois and Frankfurt, Germany.
This acquisition is complementary to MHI’s existing commercial aircraft business, in particular the development, production, sales and support of the Mitsubishi SpaceJet commercial aircraft family. The maintenance and engineering capabilities of the CRJ program will further enhance critical customer support functions, a strategic business area for MHI in the pursuit of future growth.
Speaking in June last year, Seiji Izumisawa, President & CEO of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., commented: “As we outlined during the recent Paris Air Show, we are working hard to ensure that we provide new profit potential for airlines and set a new standard for passenger experience. This transaction represents one of the most important steps in our strategic journey to build a strong, global aviation capability. It augments these efforts by securing a world-class and complementary set of aviation-related functions including maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), engineering and customer support.”
Izumisawa concluded: “The CRJ program has been supported by tremendously talented individuals. In combination with our existing infrastructure and resources in Japan, Canada and elsewhere, we are confident that this represents one effective strategy that will contribute to the future success of the Mitsubishi SpaceJet family. MHI has a decades-long history in Canada, and I hope this transaction will result in the expansion of our presence in the country and will represent a significant step in our growth strategy.”
