Honda Aircraft Company is a subsidiary of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. The company was initially founded in 2006 as a secret research project. Currently, it is based in Greensboro, North Carolina, manufacturing business jets. Its first entry into the market was the HA-420, known as the HondaJet, a very light jet. Since then, the company has introduced several new variants of the original HondaJet.
Honda Aircraft initially began as a secret project under the Honda R&D division. A team of four engineers was assigned to begin building an aircraft division beginning in 1986. The project began by researching composite airframes.
By the early 1990s, the Honda research team had made significant progress, developing an experimental business jet called the Honda MH02 in cooperation with Mississippi State University. The experimental aircraft served as a platform for researching engine placement and composite instruction. The aircraft flew for the first time in 1993 and accumulated nearly 200 hours by the mid-1990s.
In the late 1990s, lead designer Michimasa Fujino developed the first concept for the flagship HondaJet, featuring over-the-wing engine mounts. By 2000, the engineering team relocated to Piedmont Triad International Airport (GSO) in Greensboro, North Carolina. Through the early 2000s, the Honda research team operated out of a single hangar in relative secrecy.
However, in 2003, the first proof-of-concept HondaJet conducted its maiden flight. This aircraft featured several significant advancements in the world of aviation, including a mostly composite airframe and engines mounted on the wing. In 2006, Honda Aircraft Company was officially founded as a wholly owned subsidiary of Honda Motor Company. This same year, the HondaJet program was publicly launched and began taking customer orders.
Fujino immediately began scaling the Honda Aircraft team, with Honda investing over $200 million in facilities to create a 133-acre campus by 2015. Additionally, in 2010, the first FAA-conforming HondaJet completed its maiden flight, which kicked off the flight testing and certification efforts.
In 2015, the HondaJet was awarded its type certificate by the FAA after over 3,000 flight-test hours. Later that year, deliveries of the first HondaJet began. In 2016, the company received its production certificate from the FAA, allowing it to begin scaling production of the newly certified aircraft.
The HondaJet was a success from the start, as it became the most-delivered business jet in its category in the first half of 2017. Because of this, Honda Aircraft began upgrades to the aircraft, eventually introducing the HondaJet Elite in 2018. The company also offered upgrades to the first HondaJet, calling the upgraded variant the HondaJet APMG.
In the early 2020s, Honda Aircraft introduced the HondaJet Elite and the HondaJet Elite S variants. Furthermore, in 2023, Honda Aircraft released the HondaJet Echelon based on its Honda 2600 concept. The development of this aircraft is ongoing, with the first flight of the Echelon planned for 2026.
Honda Aircraft currently only produces one aircraft, based on the earlier-introduced HondaJet.
| Aircraft Model | Entry into Service | Aircraft Class | Engines | Capacity | Range |
| HondaJet Elite II | 2022 | Very light jet | GE Honda HF120 | 6 passengers | 1,547 nautical miles |
Additionally, Honda is currently working on developing a slightly larger aircraft, based on the same platform. This aircraft, the HondaJet Echelon, is expected to begin flying in 2026.
Honda Aircraft Company first entered the private aviation industry with the original HondaJet in 2018. Since then, the company has introduced upgraded variants to replace older generations, maintaining its presence in the very light business jet industry. This includes the following variants:
The replacement for the Elite S, the Elite II, is still in production today.
Honda Aircraft Company operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Honda Motor Company.
| Founded | 2006 |
| Headquarters | Greensboro, NC |
| Manufacturing Locations | Greensboro, NC |
| Company Type | Private subsidiary of Honda Motor Company Ltd. |
| Stock Symbols | New York Stock Exchange (NYSE): $HMC |
| Approximate Employees | 1,200 (2025) |
| 2025 Revenue | Not publicly disclosed |
| 2025 Net Income | Not publicly disclosed |
The HondaJet series is one of the most prominent very light business jets on the market. Typically, the aircraft is flown by owner-operators and corporate flight departments. Even so, several popular fractional operators and charter companies fly Honda Aircraft Company private jets. This includes:
