Story ID: 671HondaJetEurope
HondaJet Gets European Nod
By: Chad Trautvetter
Caption: Follows U.S. FAA approval in December and Mexican DGAC validation in March.
Word Count: 275
Honda Aircraft’s HA-420 HondaJet received EASA certification on the eve of EBACE, paving the way for deliveries of European-registered aircraft to customers. Steven Higgins, EASA’s section manager for high-performance aircraft and turboprops, presented the type certificate for the HondaJet to Honda Aircraft president and CEO Michimasa Fujino during a press event yesterday.

This follows U.S. Federal Aviation Administration approval in December and Mexican Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil validation in March. Honda Aircraft will next turn to getting certifications in Canada and Brazil. Meanwhile, the company has completed all icing testing on the HondaJet and is awaiting flight-into-known-icing approval from the FAA and EASA.

"This [latest] certification signifies the HondaJet meets the highest European safety standards,” said Fujino. “HondaJet deliveries in Europe have begun, and we are excited to see the HondaJet enter service in this important market.”

In fact, the keys to the first European-registered HA-420 HondaJet—M-HNDA (an Isle of Man registration)—were handed over to Honda Aircraft northern Europe dealer Marshall Aviation Services today at 9:30 a.m. at the EBACE static area. A U.S.-registered HondaJet was delivered last month to Rheinland Air Service, the HondaJet dealer for central Europe, during Aero 2016 in Friedrichshafen, Germany, marking the first customer handover for the type in Europe.

Honda Aircraft has already established a sales and service dealer network in Europe that includes TAG Aviation for southern Europe, in addition to Marshall Aviation and Rheinland Air Service.

The HondaJet, which features over-the-wing mounted engines, is priced at $4.85 million and has an NBAA IFR range of 1,223 nm /2,265 km.