The first Mitsubishi Regional Jet, whose parts are now taking shape in Nagoya, will follow a design that in key areas shows unusual features in the quest for fuel economy. Above all, program managers have bet on higher fuel prices justifying a design whose wing is much more slender than usual for a regional jet.

Across the northern half of the main Japanese island of Honshu, aerospace managers are bringing factories back online, working around problems left by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami and sending parts out the door. The hardest hit of the big manufacturers, IHI Corp., has resumed some production at its two aero-engine factories in Soma and hopes to get its whole operation in the city back online by May. Fuji Heavy Industries and Kawasaki Heavy Industries say most of their suppliers are also working again.

Fast trains have claimed another aviation victim in China, with China Southern and Henan Airlines giving up the Wuhan-Nanjing route. Ominously for aviation, the carriers decided they were unable to compete over that stage length against trains that by Chinese standards are only moderately fast, with maximum speeds of 250 kph (160 mph). The two cities are 450 km (280 mi.) apart, and the trains take three hours for the trip. More decisive than their speed probably was their fares—just 180 yuan ($27) each way.