Story ID: 
Europe Meets the HondaJet
By: Chad Trautvetter
Caption: Honda Aircraft made a big splash in its first official presence at EBACE today, announcing the appointment of three European HondaJet dealers to provide sa
Word Count: 187
Honda Aircraft made a big splash in its first official presence at EBACE today, announcing the appointment of three European HondaJet dealers to provide sales and service support to customers in the region, as well as revealing Formula 1 driver Jenson Button as the European launch customer for the compact twinjet. Company president Michimasa Fujino said Europe is one of the fastest-growing markets for light jets, “and the HondaJet is the right product at the right time” in this region. The company is establishing a network of three standalone dealers to cover the Northern Europe/UK, Central Europe and Southern Europe sales territories. TAG Aviation has been tapped to run HondaJet UK & Northern Europe at Farnborough Airport. In Central Europe, Rheinland Air will set up a dealership in Frankfurt, Germany. Aviastec will establish the HondaJet Southern Europe center in the Madrid area of Spain. The HondaJet price in Europe will remain the same as in the U.S.–$3.9 million–though this is an increase from the previous $3.65 million price tag. The HondaJet is slated for FAA certification in 2010, with EASA approval expected three to six months later.