Honda unveils new HondaJet with longer flight range, autolanding

Honda Motor Co. will launch a new model of its popular small business aircraft, HondaJet Elite II, featuring a longer flight range and an automatic landing system.

The latest model, priced at $6.95 million, can travel 2,865 kilometers, 204 km longer than the existing models, as it adopted a bigger fuel tank, according to Honda's jet-making unit, Honda Aircraft Co.

It also added performance-improving ground spoiler devices to its wings to help control speed, Honda Aircraft said recently.

"The HondaJet Elite II once again pushes the boundaries of its category on all fronts of performance, comfort and style," Hideto Yamasaki, CEO of Honda Aircraft, said in a statement.

The company is expected to start delivering the aircraft to customers from November after obtaining a certificate for flight operations from U.S. aviation authorities.

New automation technologies, such as emergency auto-landing, will also be introduced to the new model by the end of next year, according to Honda Aircraft. The functions can be retrofitted to the aircraft, the company said.

In 2021, 37 HondaJet aircraft were delivered, making it the best-selling small business jet for the fifth year in a row. It gained more popularity during the coronavirus pandemic as a safer means of transportation among corporate executives, it said.

Honda entered the business jet market in 2015, launching the jet that features high fuel efficiency and relatively large cabin space.

The development of a private jet was an aspiration of the late Soichiro Honda, the founder of the Japanese automaker. He announced the company's intention to enter the aircraft market in 1962.

© Kyodo News