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Trans States firms up order for up to 100 MRJs
By Kerry Reals

US regional operator Trans States Holdings has firmed up its letter of intent for up to 100 Mitsubishi MRJ jets.


The carrier has signed a firm deal for 50 MRJs plus 50 options.
Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2014.


source: Trans States firms up order for up to 100 MRJs

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More:

Mitsubishi Closes On Big U.S. RJ Deal : AINonline


Mitsubishi Closes On Big U.S. RJ Deal

By: Gregory Polek
February 1, 2011
Aerospace Industry, Regional Airlines, Air Transport and Cargo Aircraft
St. Louis-based Trans States Holdings (TSH) signed a firm order for 50 Mitsubishi Regional Jets and secured options on another 50, Mitsubishi Aircraft announced today during a ceremony held in Nagoya, Japan. The sides finalized and executed the so-called definitive purchase agreement on December 27, almost 15 months after TSA signed a letter of intent to become the first U.S. customer for the 76- to 88-seat family of regional jets.

“We have been very excited about the MRJ program for a long time, and we are extremely pleased to conclude this major order on December 27 last year reaffirming the 100 aircraft commitment we made with our LOI,” said TSH president Rick Leach during today’s ceremony in Nagoya. “Since that launch order, we have learned a lot about the quality of the Mitsubishi Aircraft team and the quality of the MRJ aircraft. Both have given us great confidence. In addition, many good things have happened with the MRJ itself. Mitsubishi Aircraft has entered the production drawing phase for the MRJ and continues to proceed with the manufacturing process.”

Accompanied by Mitsubish Aircraft president Hideo Egawa, Leach also visited the Mitsubishi Heavy Industry’s Tobishima Plant, where the project’s various partners expect final assembly of the MRJ to start soon.

The start of MRJ production—marked by the cutting of the first metal by MHI on September 30--signaled the successful conclusion of last summer’s detailed design review, during which MHI froze the final configuration of the 88-seat MRJ90 and reached conclusions about the changes needed for the 76-seat MRJ70 and the still unlaunched 100-seat MRJ100X. Following MHI’s lead, project partners launched manufacturing of the various components for which they have taken responsibility, based on production drawings now in process.

Plans call for the MRJ90 to fly for the first time in 2012, gain Japanese certification in late 2013 and enter airline service during the first quarter of 2014. The MRJ70 would likely gain certification approximately a year later. The MRJ100X remains in the preliminary design phase. Still lacking a customer, that airplane likely won’t reach the market until 2016 or 2017, depending on when the company decides to launch the program.

Meanwhile, BAE Systems last year signed a multi-year agreement with Mitsubishi Aircraft under which it will initially provide engineering development and integration services related to flight-test equipment and systems for the Pratt & Whitney PW1200G-powered aircraft. The contract complements another deal under which a team from BAE Systems’ Regional Aircraft business at Prestwick, Scotland, supports engineering on a number of work packages, including the powerplant, pylon, nacelle, auxiliary power units and fuel systems.

With the TSA order, Mitshubishi Aircraft has collected firm orders for 65 airplanes, including fifteen 88-seat MRJ90s from launch customer All Nippon Airways, which also holds options on another 10.


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Just as a friendly reminder, Delta sold Compass Airlines to Trans States for $20.5M in 2010.



Delta to sell Mesaba and Compass for $82.5 million

jtf560

I hope uncle Hulas is biting off more than he can chew with this one and that he can't find any code share to fly them under. I would love to see that scum sucker lose his shirt.

Mesabah

It wouldn't surprise me if the regionals bought these airplanes and leased them to the mainline. A lot of majors can't afford the additional debt load like some regionals can.

acl65pilot

Bingo. They would not necessarily lease them, but the mainline would pay a "fee" to operate them. Cash flow the payments and keep the debt off the mainline ledger.

That is the great savings of outsourcing. Dividing the pilots is only an added benefit.

How a major chooses to organize their balance sheet is their business, but who flies the jets is the business of the pilots.

gloopy

The only way a fake virtual airline could get the credit to actually get planes to lease to other airlines to operate would be through the credit chain generated by rock solid long term deals. I really doubt the investment community is so ignorant and stupid that they can be so easily tricked into thinking an airline can operate brand new planes on a lease as magically "debt free". If it is done that way, every single red cent of the debt associated with DL doing it themselves will still be DL debt because DL will still be 100% committed to it for the exact same dollars, years and terms...PLUS a guaranteed profit for the bogus service to begin with. IOW DL will still bear 100% responsibility for the debt plus the additional overhead of the fake shell corporation that offers nothing other than the illusion of accounting trickery that not even the dumbest first year MBA 101 student would fall for. I really don't think the investment community is that ignorant as to fall for such a simplistic and sophomoric trick.

MatthewAMEL

Lehman Brothers - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

johnso29

Regional airlines have been operating RJ's purchased by Mainline for years.

gloopy

Of course. But they have sweetened the pot with outrageously cheaper labor and overhead. A scheme whereby we lease it out to pretend to avoid debt that we will have to pay for 100% anyway and still do it at 100% mainline overhead makes no sense unless the investment/credit community is really that stupid. If they really are that stupid, why haven't we been doing this with all our aircraft for decades?

Mason32

Isn't this thread in the wrong Forum? Shoud it not be in the Regionals Section?

mustache ride

So TSA will purchase an aircraft that hasn't been built for a customer that doesn't exist, but they won't settle the outstanding and extremely expired pilot contract at TSA. I hope the folks at the Majors scope this BS out of existence. I bet Leach sits in coach while traveling to Japan. Not bad for an ex-ramper, now CEO of a totally crappy company. Guess they'll need to "refocus" some more to get a codeshare agreement to fly these EM-AR-Jay's. Good luck. How do you say pencil whip in Japanese?