Honda Aircraft appoints new sales representatives for private jet customers in Asean

BUSINESS jet maker Honda Aircraft Company has appointed two new authorised sales representatives in Singapore and Thailand to serve its customers in South-east Asia, it announced on Wednesday (May 10). Singapore-based WingsOverAsia has been appointed the sales representative for Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore. Forth, based in Thailand, will be its sales representative for Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

This is the first announcement of sales representatives in South-east Asia since the 2017 appointment of Thai Aerospace Services in Bangkok, Thailand. 

Honda Aircraft is a wholly-owned US-based subsidiary of Japanese car manufacturer Honda Motor.

It manufactures one model, the HondaJet, in the very light jet category and competing with offerings from rival manufacturers Cessna and Embraer. This is the smallest kind of private jet, seating up to eight people. The latest version of the HondaJet is the Elite II, first revealed in October 2022, and it will be sold to South-east Asian customers with a starting price of US$7 million. In its press statement, Honda Aircraft said it “continues to strengthen its presence in South-east Asia... in response to growing demand for the HondaJet”. “South-east Asia is a dynamic market for business aviation, and we are excited to expand our presence in the region to provide prompt and attentive support for customers,” said Hideto Yamasaki, president and chief executive officer of Honda Aircraft. Honda Aircraft was founded in 2006 and made its first deliveries in 2015. According to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, the HondaJet was the most delivered light aircraft in its class from 2016 to 2021. This is Honda Aircraft’s latest move in South-east-Asia after the 2022 appointment of KarbonMRO in Malaysia as its first authorised service centre for the region. According to a report from aviation market intelligence and research outfit GlobalSky Media, South-east Asia has the second-largest private business aircraft fleet with 273 planes, after China with 301 aircraft.