When it comes to the Mitsubishi project launch, “the timing is not ideal,” Curado said. “It will take a few years to see what should be included on next-generation aircraft, which is not clearly defined right now.”

Aircraft with true next-generation technology won’t hit the market until 2016 or 2017, he contends. That means the Mitsubishi jets will hit the market a few years before new technology redefines the market that the Japanese firm hopes to capture.

“Even using today’s technology and doing everything right, the MRJs will not be materially better than the Embraer 170/190 family. They will be caught between two generations of aircraft,” Curado contends.

While conceding that Mitsubishi will be a strong competitor, Curado insists the company is not the kind of threat that could jeopardize Embraer’s future. At the same time, however, he sounded concerned about the Japanese government’s deep pockets – and what financial backing of that magnitude might do to Embraer.

“And a point we made strongly to the Japanese press is that it would not be tolerable for its government to subsidize the [MRJ],” he warned.

Because Japan is a member of both the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), there are rules the country must follow – and that includes no subsidies, he stated.

Mitsubishi Heavy said it hopes to have the jet in the air by 2013 and will aim to sell 1,000 over the next 20 to 30 years, grabbing one-fifth of expected new demand in a market that is projected to roughly quintuple to more than 5,000 planes by 2026.

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