Japan Airlines is to buy 32 MRJ aircraft (worth around $1.5 billion) from Mitsubishi Regional Jet to make its fleet more fuel-efficient. The carrier has also signed a firm order (estimated at $677 million) for 15 regional E-Jets from Brazil’s Embraer for delivery from next year. Japan Airlines, the country’s second-largest airline, says that it will start deploying the MRJs on domestic routes by 2021.

Mitsubishi Regional Jet, which is part-owned by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Toyota Motor Corp, has struggled to win orders due to production delays, according to analysts.

However, this latest deal brings its total order book to 400, according to CEO Hideo Egawa. He told reporters in Tokyo: “Our sales force is very active in Europe, South East Asia and North America. We expect more orders as well from Latin America and Africa.”

US carrier SkyWest Inc is the biggest customer for Mitsubishi so far, with an order for 100 aircraft and an option for another 100. The Nagoya-based aerospace manufacturer has also won an order for 25 of the jets from JAL’s bigger rival ANA Holdings Inc and an order for 100 from Trans States Airlines Inc of the USA. In addition, it plans to sell up to 40 regional jets to US start-up Eastern Air Lines Group Inc.