GE Aviation plans to acquire two HondaJets to launch an internal shuttle service for non-executive employees moving between the company’s 42 US manufacturing sites, says Brad Mottier, president and chief executive.
The move expands the company’s private fleet of aircraft powered with engines linked to GE and creates a new model of internal transport that could be copied by other corporate divisions if it proves successful, Mottier says.
The HondaJet is powered by HF120 turbofans produced by GE Honda Aero Engines.
“We’re going to start with two,” Mottier says, but the concept could expand to include more fleet acquisitions.
Mottier does not rule out buying other aircraft besides the HondaJet. GE also builds the CF34 engines that power the Bombardier Challenger 600/800-series fleet and the Passport engine for the developmental Global 7000/8000.
Many companies use turboprops as utility transports, however, and GE is installing its H80 engine on the Nextant Aerospace G90XT - a remanufactured Beechcraft King Air C90.
The unpressurised Let L-410 is also powered by the H80 and would be another option for GE. However, Mottier points to its unavailability, with the Czech-built type still awaiting US FAA validation of its existing EASA-approved airworthiness certificate.
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Source: Flight Daily News
