By Karl Sinclair

Dec. 5, 2024, © Leeham News: Start-up company Maeve last week signed a collaborative agreement with MHIRJ to provide sales and potentially product support for its proposed 80-seat M80 hybrid-electric commuter airliner.

Maeve has administrative headquarters in The Netherlands and technical headquarters in Munch. MHIRJ is the old Bombardier CRJ regional jet global product support system headquartered in Canada.

MHIRJ will lead Maeve’s sales effort for the new M80 and instantly give Maeve credibility in potentially offering a reliable product support system. MHIRJ also has global access to airlines via the CRJ program, which Maeve lacks as a start-up.

If things go as planned, Maeve will see the launch of the first clean-sheet turboprop aircraft in over three decades. The M80 is scheduled to undergo a critical design review by the beginning of 2028, make its first flight in 2030, and enter service in 2032.

“That's the timeline that they're still working towards, and that's why they brought us on, to start looking at their design, from all aspects,” said Ross Mitchell, Senior Vice-President of MHIRJ, in an interview with LNA.

MHIRJ is a fully owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and is the result of Mitsubishi's 2020 acquisition of the CRJ Series program.

“MHIRJ is the largest MRO for regional aircraft in the world,” said Mitchell. “The [US labor contract] Scope Clause is a little more complicated than some people think, and because we had that experience dealing with Scope Clause over the years, we can certainly advise them on how to make sure your airplane is most suitable for the US market.”

MAEVE's proposed M80 hybrid-electric 80-seat airliner. Credit: MAEVE.

Scope Clauses limit the size and number of passengers a regional aircraft can carry and exist between mainline carriers and their respective pilot’s unions. The most common clause among the Big Three is a maximum take-off weight of 86,000 lbs and a seating limit of 76 passengers.