With only about 60 business jets operating in Japan, Honda Motor Co. group is seeking a new mobility service using its light business jet rather than searching for deep-pocketed buyers.

Instead, Honda is planning to start a transport service for passengers wanting to travel between local airports in Japan. 

The move aims to expand the sales of Honda Aircraft Co.'s business jet, which Honda spent some 30 years in developing.

Still, it is unclear how far the new offering will be accepted in Japan, given that trips using business jets are uncommon in the country.

QUIET, STABLE RIDE

A demonstration ride on the HondaJet Elite--a model to be utilized for the envisioned program--was offered on Sept. 21. The airplane left Kumamoto Airport just after noon bound for Oita Airport.

While the six-passenger jet can fly at altitudes up to 13,000 meters, it flew at around 4,000 meters above the ground that day.

Winds were strong immediately following a typhoon, but the HondaJet did not rock violently. The quiet environment inside allowed passengers to comfortably carry on conversations. 

The aircraft arrived at its destination while passengers took in the breathtaking view of the sprawling Mount Aso below.

Traveling by jet took 40 minutes, although reaching Oita Airport from Kumamoto Airport by car requires a journey of about two and a half hours.

INCREASE CLIENTELE BASE

The development of the HondaJet started in 1986, as Soichiro Honda, the founder of Honda, wanted to see “an aircraft created by Japanese.”

After being certified by the U.S. aviation authorities, the HondaJet hit the market in 2015.

The HondaJet has a range of 2,661 kilometers at a maximum cruising speed of 782 kph, meaning it can travel the length of Japan's mainland from end to end. 

About 220 units have been sold globally to customers mainly in the United States. Among the HondaJet’s owners is a rival in the auto industry: Toyota Motor Corp. 

Honda Aircraft on Oct. 18 announced it will launch HondaJet Elite II, the fourth HondaJet model, in the United States.

A challenge concerning the HondaJet is that only a limited number of patrons can afford its hefty price tag of $5.28 million (about 800 million yen), whereas special emphasis is not put on the business’s profitability.

With the department suffering from a succession of losses, it became urgent for Honda to win over new customers.

However, a Honda executive said having conventional “corporate customers own multiple units to increase their total flight time for sales improvement is difficult."

Therefore, Honda is looking to introduce a transit service under which passengers will be carried on a HondaJet operated by Honda Airways Co., a group company.

Reservations will be accepted on a specialized website, and limousines, rental cars and other transport means will also be available under the program.

Prices have yet to be determined, but a Honda official said the price tags “will be at competitive levels compared to other corporations’ offerings.”

Starting in October, a trial run began toward its future commercialization.

The planned service is expected to be utilized by local company executives and other officials for business trips. It will also cater to doctors frequenting remote islands as well, while goods will likewise be shipped under the program.

Since traveling by land takes much time in many regions in Japan, a country filled with many mountains, Honda predicts there is a need for the new flight service.

“The new service will offer more flexible flight plans than regular flights by airline companies,” said Daisuke Inoue, a chief at the mobility service planning division of Honda’s new business development department. “We will be working to get the service to take hold in Japan, contributing to improved transportation productivity.”

UNPOPULARITY, CARBON FOOTPRINTS

Fewer business jets are utilized in Japan than in other countries. 

Transport ministry data shows that business jets departed from and arrived at domestic airports on 13,700 occasions in 2021, up 18 percent from 10 years earlier. That figure, however, is far lower than in other nations.

About 21,000 business jets are owned in the United States. The numbers for Canada and Germany are 1,300 and 730, compared to no more than 60 in Japan.

There are more super-wealthy individuals who can afford private jets in the United States. The country's huge landmass means traveling by business jet is more convenient than other transportation means.

In Japan, networks of high-speed Shinkansen and expressways have been well developed. Due to that, owning business jets is less necessary than in other countries.

Few passengers taking business jets results in expensive charter service fares: The hourly rate for a flight costs more than 1 million yen, more than double that in the United States.

The global shift to decarbonization is dealing an additional blow to small jets that consume large amounts of fossil fuels. Business jets carrying fewer passengers have a greater environmental impact per passenger than large passenger planes.

High-ranking government officials and businessmen from around the world discuss worldwide problems at the annual World Economic Forum, also known as the Davos Forum, and their travel by jets has repeatedly been subject to criticism.

The HondaJet is anticipated to operate on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in the future, which emits less carbon dioxide than oil-derived fuel.

A joint venture by Honda and General Electric Co. of the United States announced on Oct. 18 that its jet engine using 100-percent SAF showed performance equivalent to that of the same engine using normal jet fuel in ground testing.

“SAF will help us address issues involving decarbonization,” a senior Honda official said.