Seeking to capitalise on the potential market for light business jets in Asia, Honda Aircraft is bringing its certified pre-owned (CPO) programme to the region.
“The number of high-net-worth individuals is growing extremely fast,” Amod Kelkar, Honda Aircraft’s chief commercial officer, tells FlightGlobal. “We see a great potential here because… this market is so much smaller in size compared to the potential the region has.”
First launched in June 2023, the CPO programme involves a rigorous inspection and maintenance process “even before we take the aircraft from somebody else”, Kelkar says.
The CPO programme expansion comes as Honda Aircraft undertakes a “continuous effort to enhance its presence in Asia”. Kelkar says its HA-420 HondaJet is perfectly suited for relatively short-haul regional flights out of Singapore.
“Our aircraft with five passengers usually has a comfortable range of 1,200nm, or about two hours and 10 minutes,” he says. “The biggest route from Singapore is to Jakarta, and that’s about one hour and 30 minutes, and the top five routes from Singapore are all under two hours.”
There are 23 HondaJets in operation throughout Asia. Earlier this month, the airframer delivered the 250th HA-420, a major milestone since the type was certificated about eight years ago.
