Mitsubishi to postpone jet delivery for fifth time - sources

TOKYO (Reuters) - Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp will delay delivery of its Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) by about two years from the previously expected mid-2018, in the fifth postponement since announcing plans for the aircraft, two sources told Reuters on Friday. A further delay in Japan's first commercial passenger plane in half a century could hurt the company's chances of winning fresh orders in the regional jet market, dominated by Canada's Bombardier Inc and Brazil's Embraer SA. The MRJ was originally slated for delivery in 2013. Mitsubishi Aircraft and its parent company, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd, last month said they were reviewing the MRJ's entire schedule, from testing to delivery. Mitsubishi Heavy declined to comment, saying it would provide details on the MRJ business at a news conference with Mitsubishi Aircraft on Monday. Reuters' sources, who have direct knowledge of the matter, declined to be named as the latest plan was not yet public. The MRJ, which made its maiden test flight in November, represents Japan's long-held ambition to re-establish a commercial aircraft industry that was dismantled by the United States after Japan's defeat in World War Two. (Reporting by Maki Shiraki, Writing by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Himani Sarkar)