Honda Aircraft has reached a confidential settlement in its lawsuit against fractional HondaJet operator Jet It. According to a recent document filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, the matter was settled with prejudice, and with each party bearing its own expenses, including attorneys’ fees. The manufacturer noted, "Jet It continues to remain an important customer to [Honda Aircraft], and [Honda Aircraft] will continue to provide service and support.”
Late last year, Jet It, one of the largest fleet operators of the light twinjet, issued a letter to its customers describing perceived issues with the OEM’s support and the aircraft’s reliability. Simultaneously, it announced it would begin introducing Embraer Phenom 300s to its fleet.
In its lawsuit, Honda Aircraft stated, “In an apparent attempt to spin some kind of justification for its decision to diversify its fleet, Jet It issued several statements that contain defamatory and disparaging comments about Honda Aircraft and the HondaJet brand.” The manufacturer also alleged that Jet It committed a breach of contract in its fleet purchase agreement (FPA), which restricts Jet It from selling aircraft to an unrelated third party within one year of delivery. Honda Aircraft indicated that Jet It attempted to sell the first of three HondaJets it received from an FPA, signed in October 2022, and that it, therefore, intended to void the remaining two deliveries in the purchase order.