不甘做配角 日本打算造飛機
在
給波音公司(Boeing Co.)和空中客車(Airbus)作了數十年忠誠的供應商之後﹐日本正準備啟動單通道飛機計劃﹐讓自己在航空業也能以主要飛機製造商的身份佔有一席之地。
據 知情人士透露﹐三菱重工業(Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.)最早可能會於本週五公佈研發96座三菱支線飛機(Mitsubishi Regional Jet)的計劃﹐公司預計可在2012年交付使用。這種飛機將採用新的引擎技術和建造方法﹐三菱希望這能使其在競爭激烈的市場中比現有支線客機實現一個跨 越。自去年6月在巴黎航空展上宣佈將啟動自己的飛機製造計劃以來﹐三菱一直努力從豐田汽車(Toyota Motor Corp.)、波音和聯合技術公司(United Technologies Corp.)旗下的普拉特惠特尼(Pratt & Whitney)等公司尋求財務支持或技術幫助﹐以此打消外界的疑慮。日本政府已表示﹐將在預計1,500億日圓（約合15億美元）的研發預算中投資至多 三分之一﹐不過知情人士稱﹐這類項目的成本通常會大大超過這個預算數字。
三菱去年底曾表示﹐每架飛機的售價在30億至40億日圓之間。
政府給三菱設定的啟動此項目的最後期限是本財政年度結束前﹐即下週一之前。知情人士稱﹐如果屆時項目不能啟動﹐它可能會推遲時間和第一年的資金投入。日本政府的發言人對此不予置評。
如果項目能夠啟動﹐三菱支線飛機將使走走停停了近30年的飛機夢最終變成了現實。使用自身先進的汽車製造技術生產飛機是日本商界人士多年的夢想﹐在這之前 他們一直只能看著波音和歐洲航空防務航天公司(European Aeronautic, Defense & Space Co.)旗下的空中客車將許多技術率先付諸應用。
據瞭解豐田汽車內部討論的人士透露﹐該公司正考慮投資約100億日圓﹐持有該飛機項目10%的股份。最終決定可能會在本月底前的董事會會議後公佈。目前﹐豐田汽車僅表示正在考慮三菱的投資要求。
支 線飛機是瞄準中型市場的小型民用飛機﹐航程約在1,000英里之內。通過從小型飛機起步﹐三菱目前不會與波音和空中客車發生正面碰撞﹐但這一市場中的老牌 公司也不少﹐其中包括加拿大龐巴迪(Bombardier Inc.)和巴西航空工業公司(Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica SA)。
此外﹐俄羅斯和中國也都在緊鑼密鼓地開發自己的支線飛機﹐而且也同日本一樣計劃向海外銷售。
尚不清楚日本的中長期目標是否包括建造更大的飛機﹐同波音和空中客車競爭。儘管這是符合邏輯的下一步舉措﹐但其中的成本壁壘卻相當高。130座以上的飛機根據其大小通常需要投入60億至120億美元的研發費用。
預 計三菱將成立一個單獨的公司負責研發、建造和銷售三菱支線飛機﹐此計劃還需得到董事會的批准。近日﹐公司管理人員一直希望能儘快敲定來自全日空(All Nippon Airways)、日本航空(Japan Airlines Corp.)、越南航空(Vietnam Airlines Corp.)和其它航空公司的訂單。
日本兩家航空公司的代表證實﹐三菱的飛機也在他們的考慮範圍之內﹐公司可能會在本月底做出決定。日本航空一位發言人表示﹐儘管公司仍在研究這種飛機﹐但公司管理人員感覺這是國家的重大項目﹐將對日本航空業的發展做出巨大貢獻。
知情人士透露﹐即便只有全日空區區15架飛機的訂單﹐只要管理人員確信還會很快接到其他訂單﹐他們就可能會決定啟動該項目。
越南航空也在考慮定購至多20架三菱的飛機﹐不過尚未做出最終決定。知情人士稱﹐越方在訂單之外想附加一個協議﹐要求最終能在越南生產至多30%的飛機部件。
根據此前與普拉特惠特尼達成的協議﹐該項目至少要有三個客戶、其中包括一家日本以外的客戶﹐這家美國引擎製造商才會著手進行大部分工作。知情人士表示﹐普拉特惠特尼的管理人員相信基本的啟動條件能夠滿足。
普 拉特惠特尼在過去20年里投資了大約10億美元研發被稱作齒輪驅動渦扇發動機的新引擎。這款引擎在主風扇葉片的後面安裝了一個齒輪箱﹐可使風扇和內部引擎 部件以不同的速度旋轉。普拉特惠特尼表示﹐這令引擎可以更高效地運轉﹐耗油量降低12%左右﹐噪音也低於目前的引擎。近幾個月來﹐三菱和龐巴迪都選擇將這 款引擎用於計劃中的新機型﹐這給了普拉特惠特尼一個證明其實力的機會。
三菱希望波音能成為該項目的重要盟軍。三菱已勸說波音加入﹐合作採 用波音787夢想飛機中使用的相同碳纖維復合技術材料。包括三菱在內的三家日本重工業企業是波音大型飛機的主要財務伙伴﹐因此他們對使用這些材料富有經 驗。通過加入不會隨使用年限而腐蝕或疲勞的復合材料﹐日方希望他們的產品能與目前主要採用鋁合金的競爭對手的產品區別開來。
三菱和日本政府官員曾希望波音能簽約成為該項目的主要投資者﹐但波音拒絕了這個要求﹐稱它需要將重點放在交付已經推遲的787夢想飛機上。一位瞭解商談內容的波音管理人員說﹐我們將以有限的方式參與。商談還在進行﹐以判斷到底哪種方式對該項目最有價值。
據知情人士稱﹐三菱還在於美國租賃巨頭國際租賃金融公司(International Lease Finance Corp.)討論後者定購最多100架飛機﹐並簽約成為這款飛機的全球分銷商的事宜。
儘管協議還遠未敲定﹐但這會大大推動這個尚處萌芽狀態的飛機項目。通過向成長中的航空公司租賃新飛機﹐國際租賃金融公司在空中客車處於發展初期時向全球航空公司租賃了數百架空中客車飛機。
國際租賃金融公司創始人、首席執行長史蒂文•烏德沃爾-哈齊(Steven Udvar-Hazy)在最近接受採訪時稱三菱的飛機是頗具前景的項目﹐但他沒有透露國際租賃金融公司需要多久才能做出決定。他說﹐支線飛機是我們一直非常關注的市場。
烏德沃爾-哈齊表示﹐國際租賃金融公司還在關注龐巴迪C系列支線飛機的研發進展﹐這種飛機與三菱的飛機存在競爭。龐巴迪一直在積極為其飛機尋找客戶﹐但目前尚未正式啟動該計劃。
J. Lynn Lunsford / Norihiko Shirouzu / Bruce Stanley
Japan Gets Ready To Take To The Skies
AFTER DECADES of being a faithful supplier to Boeing Co. and Airbus, Japan is poised to launch a single-aisle jetliner program aimed at putting itself on the map as a prime player in aviation.
According to people familiar with the situation, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. could announce as early as Friday that it plans to move forward with its Mitsubishi Regional Jet, a 96-seat passenger plane the company hopes will enter service in 2012. The jet will harness new engine technology and construction methods that the company hopes will enable it to leapfrog existing regional jets in an already crowded market.
Since announcing plans to pursue an indigenous jet program at the Paris Air Show last June, Mitsubishi Heavy has defied skeptics by courting financial support or technical assistance from companies such as Toyota Motor Corp., Boeing and United Technologies Corp.'s Pratt & Whitney. The Japanese government has indicated it is willing to invest up to a third of the projected development budget of 150 billion yen ($1.5 billion), although such projects typically end up costing much more than that, said people familiar with the discussions.
Mitsubishi said late last year that each aircraft would sell for between three billion yen and four billion yen.
The government has given Mitsubishi Heavy a deadline to start the project by the end of the fiscal year, which ends Monday. If the project isn't launched by then, it could delay the timing and amount of funding for the first year, according to people familiar with the last-minute push to launch the program. A government spokesman declined to comment.
If the project gets underway, the Mitsubishi Regional Jet would be the result of almost 30 years of stop-and-go effort. Japanese executives have dreamed for years of using their vaunted automobile manufacturing techniques to produce aircraft, only to watch as Boeing and European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. unit Airbus implemented many of those methods first.
According to people familiar with the discussions inside Toyota, the auto maker is considering an investment of about 10 billion yen in the jet project for a 10% stake. A final decision is likely by the end of the month after a board meeting. For now, Toyota will say only that it is considering the investment at Mitsubishi Heavy's request.
Regional jets are small commercial planes with a range of about 1,000 miles, aimed at midsize markets. By choosing to start with a smaller jet, Mitsubishi Heavy won't compete with Boeing and Airbus for now, but it will enter a market that is crowded with established players such as Canada's Bombardier Inc. and Brazil's Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica SA.
In addition, Russia and China are well on their way toward developing their own regional-jet programs and, like Japan, plan to sell their jets abroad.
It is unclear whether Japan's longer-term goals would include building larger jets that might compete with Boeing and Airbus. While such a move might seem the logical next step, the cost barriers are steep. Jets seating 130 passengers or more typically cost between $6 billion and $12 billion to develop, depending on size.
Pending approval from its board, Mitsubishi Heavy is expected to set up a separate company to develop, build and distribute the Mitsubishi Regional Jet. In recent days, officials have been scrambling to nail down orders from All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines Corp., Vietnam Airlines Corp. and other carriers.
Representatives from the two Japanese airlines confirmed that the companies are considering the Mitsubishi plane among other choices and will likely make their decisions by the end of the month. A Japan Airlines spokesman said that while the company is still studying the aircraft, company officials 'feel that it is a significant national project that will contribute greatly to the development of Japan's aviation industry.'
According to people familiar with the situation, Mitsubishi may decide to launch the program with an order for as few as 15 jets from All Nippon, as long as officials are convinced that other orders will follow soon.
Vietnam Airlines is considering a proposal from Mitsubishi for up to 20 airplanes, although the airline has yet to agree to the order. According to these people, Vietnam is pushing to make any order contingent on an agreement to eventually produce as much as 30% of the jet in Vietnam.
Under a previous agreement with Pratt & Whitney, the program must have at least three customers, including at least one from outside Japan, before the U.S. engine maker will proceed with the bulk of its work. People familiar with the situation said Pratt officials are confident that the original launch criteria will be met.
Pratt has spent roughly $1 billion over the last 20 years to develop its new engine, called the geared turbofan. It includes a gearbox just behind the main fan blade that enables the fan and the internal engine parts to spin at different speeds. Pratt says this allows it to run more efficiently, burning about 12% less fuel and making less noise than today's engines. In recent months, Mitsubishi and Bombardier have chosen this engine to power their planned new airplanes, giving the engine maker a chance to prove its case.
In what could prove to be an important alliance, Mitsubishi Heavy has persuaded Boeing to participate in the program by working together to adapt elements of the same carbon-fiber composite technology being used in Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner. Three Japanese heavy-industry companies, including Mitsubishi Heavy, are major financial partners with Boeing on the bigger jet, so they already have experience with these materials. By incorporating composite materials that don't corrode or fatigue with age, Japanese officials hope to differentiate their product from competitors who rely largely on aluminum.
Mitsubishi Heavy and Japanese government officials had hoped that Boeing would sign on as a significant investor in the project, but the Chicago company declined, saying it needed to focus on getting its delayed Dreamliner out the door. 'We will participate in a limited way. Discussions are underway to determine exactly what will be of most value to the program,' said a Boeing executive familiar with the talks.
According to people familiar with the situation, Mitsubishi also is in talks with U.S. leasing giant International Lease Finance Corp. about a possible deal in which it would order up to 100 of the jets and then sign on as the world-wide distributor for the jet.
While an agreement is far from certain, it would be a huge boost for the fledgling jet program. By renting new airplanes to growing airlines, ILFC seeded hundreds of Airbus planes at airlines world-wide during the European plane maker's infancy.
In a recent interview, ILFC founder and Chief Executive Steven Udvar-Hazy called the Mitsubishi jet 'a promising project,' but he stopped short of saying how soon ILFC might make a decision. 'Regional jets are a market we have been looking at very closely,' Mr. Udvar-Hazy said.
He said ILFC has also been watching the development of Bombardier's planned C-Series regional jet, which would compete with the Japanese aircraft. Bombardier has been actively seeking customers for its airplane but has yet to officially launch the program.
J. Lynn Lunsford / Norihiko Shirouzu / Bruce Stanley
According to people familiar with the situation, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. could announce as early as Friday that it plans to move forward with its Mitsubishi Regional Jet, a 96-seat passenger plane the company hopes will enter service in 2012. The jet will harness new engine technology and construction methods that the company hopes will enable it to leapfrog existing regional jets in an already crowded market.
Since announcing plans to pursue an indigenous jet program at the Paris Air Show last June, Mitsubishi Heavy has defied skeptics by courting financial support or technical assistance from companies such as Toyota Motor Corp., Boeing and United Technologies Corp.'s Pratt & Whitney. The Japanese government has indicated it is willing to invest up to a third of the projected development budget of 150 billion yen ($1.5 billion), although such projects typically end up costing much more than that, said people familiar with the discussions.
Mitsubishi said late last year that each aircraft would sell for between three billion yen and four billion yen.
The government has given Mitsubishi Heavy a deadline to start the project by the end of the fiscal year, which ends Monday. If the project isn't launched by then, it could delay the timing and amount of funding for the first year, according to people familiar with the last-minute push to launch the program. A government spokesman declined to comment.
If the project gets underway, the Mitsubishi Regional Jet would be the result of almost 30 years of stop-and-go effort. Japanese executives have dreamed for years of using their vaunted automobile manufacturing techniques to produce aircraft, only to watch as Boeing and European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. unit Airbus implemented many of those methods first.
According to people familiar with the discussions inside Toyota, the auto maker is considering an investment of about 10 billion yen in the jet project for a 10% stake. A final decision is likely by the end of the month after a board meeting. For now, Toyota will say only that it is considering the investment at Mitsubishi Heavy's request.
Regional jets are small commercial planes with a range of about 1,000 miles, aimed at midsize markets. By choosing to start with a smaller jet, Mitsubishi Heavy won't compete with Boeing and Airbus for now, but it will enter a market that is crowded with established players such as Canada's Bombardier Inc. and Brazil's Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica SA.
In addition, Russia and China are well on their way toward developing their own regional-jet programs and, like Japan, plan to sell their jets abroad.
It is unclear whether Japan's longer-term goals would include building larger jets that might compete with Boeing and Airbus. While such a move might seem the logical next step, the cost barriers are steep. Jets seating 130 passengers or more typically cost between $6 billion and $12 billion to develop, depending on size.
Pending approval from its board, Mitsubishi Heavy is expected to set up a separate company to develop, build and distribute the Mitsubishi Regional Jet. In recent days, officials have been scrambling to nail down orders from All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines Corp., Vietnam Airlines Corp. and other carriers.
Representatives from the two Japanese airlines confirmed that the companies are considering the Mitsubishi plane among other choices and will likely make their decisions by the end of the month. A Japan Airlines spokesman said that while the company is still studying the aircraft, company officials 'feel that it is a significant national project that will contribute greatly to the development of Japan's aviation industry.'
According to people familiar with the situation, Mitsubishi may decide to launch the program with an order for as few as 15 jets from All Nippon, as long as officials are convinced that other orders will follow soon.
Vietnam Airlines is considering a proposal from Mitsubishi for up to 20 airplanes, although the airline has yet to agree to the order. According to these people, Vietnam is pushing to make any order contingent on an agreement to eventually produce as much as 30% of the jet in Vietnam.
Under a previous agreement with Pratt & Whitney, the program must have at least three customers, including at least one from outside Japan, before the U.S. engine maker will proceed with the bulk of its work. People familiar with the situation said Pratt officials are confident that the original launch criteria will be met.
Pratt has spent roughly $1 billion over the last 20 years to develop its new engine, called the geared turbofan. It includes a gearbox just behind the main fan blade that enables the fan and the internal engine parts to spin at different speeds. Pratt says this allows it to run more efficiently, burning about 12% less fuel and making less noise than today's engines. In recent months, Mitsubishi and Bombardier have chosen this engine to power their planned new airplanes, giving the engine maker a chance to prove its case.
In what could prove to be an important alliance, Mitsubishi Heavy has persuaded Boeing to participate in the program by working together to adapt elements of the same carbon-fiber composite technology being used in Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner. Three Japanese heavy-industry companies, including Mitsubishi Heavy, are major financial partners with Boeing on the bigger jet, so they already have experience with these materials. By incorporating composite materials that don't corrode or fatigue with age, Japanese officials hope to differentiate their product from competitors who rely largely on aluminum.
Mitsubishi Heavy and Japanese government officials had hoped that Boeing would sign on as a significant investor in the project, but the Chicago company declined, saying it needed to focus on getting its delayed Dreamliner out the door. 'We will participate in a limited way. Discussions are underway to determine exactly what will be of most value to the program,' said a Boeing executive familiar with the talks.
According to people familiar with the situation, Mitsubishi also is in talks with U.S. leasing giant International Lease Finance Corp. about a possible deal in which it would order up to 100 of the jets and then sign on as the world-wide distributor for the jet.
While an agreement is far from certain, it would be a huge boost for the fledgling jet program. By renting new airplanes to growing airlines, ILFC seeded hundreds of Airbus planes at airlines world-wide during the European plane maker's infancy.
In a recent interview, ILFC founder and Chief Executive Steven Udvar-Hazy called the Mitsubishi jet 'a promising project,' but he stopped short of saying how soon ILFC might make a decision. 'Regional jets are a market we have been looking at very closely,' Mr. Udvar-Hazy said.
He said ILFC has also been watching the development of Bombardier's planned C-Series regional jet, which would compete with the Japanese aircraft. Bombardier has been actively seeking customers for its airplane but has yet to officially launch the program.
J. Lynn Lunsford / Norihiko Shirouzu / Bruce Stanley
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