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Honda Sets Up Aircraft Subsidiary
Honda Motor revealed today that it has established Honda Aircraft, a wholly owned subsidiary, to handle development, sales and production of the HondaJet. The company will start operations in October from Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, N.C., where the HondaJet prototype was assembled and flown. Michimasa Fujino, the chief engineer who has led development of the HondaJet, will be president and CEO. Honda Aircraft will begin taking orders for the HondaJet this fall, with deliveries slated to begin in 2010. The company also will manage Honda’s alliance with Piper Aircraft to collaborate on sales and service. However, Piper’s affiliation with Honda doesn’t preclude it from developing its own jet. Piper CEO James Bass said the company is going to “announce a product” at the NBAA Convention in October, something that is “complementary to the HondaJet, not in competition with it.” Industry insiders believe that Piper is pursuing a single-engine personal jet.

First Orders Taken for VIP 787 and 747-8
Boeing has taken the first orders for executive versions of its new 787 Dreamliner and the next-generation 747-8 Intercontinental. According to the OEM, two 787s are listed as sold through Boeing Business Jets. A source at Boeing Business Jets confirmed the 787 orders but declined to provide additional details. Selection of an independent completion center to do the interior has yet to be made. Boeing has also received its first order for an executive version of the 747-8, to be delivered to the government of Qatar. The Intercontinental is a high-capacity and improved version of its 747-400 with General Electric GEnx engines, a flight-deck avionics upgrade, an extended upper deck and range expected to exceed 8,000 nm.

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NetJets Financial Winds Shift Favorably
The nine-month-old NetJets pilot contract, which raised wages substantially, isn’t having the speculated adverse effect on profits at the fractional provider. According to the second-quarter report released Friday by parent company Berkshire Hathaway, the flight services division–which includes FlightSafety and NetJets–posted a profit of $110 million in the second quarter and $131 million for the first six months, compared with $51 million for the second quarter and $58 million for the first six months of last year. Revenues from NetJets for the first six months increased $347 million, or 26 percent, over 2005, reflecting a 23-percent increase in flight operations and management service revenues and increased fractional aircraft sales. NetJets generated a pre-tax profit of $48 million for the second quarter and $29 million for the first six months, versus pre-tax losses of $1 million for the second quarter and $31 million for the first six months of last year.

Embraer Names Successor to Botelho
Frederico Fleury Curado is to succeed Mauricio Botelho as president and CEO of Embraer next April. Following a previously announced transition schedule, Botelho will then stay with the Brazilian airframer as chairman for a further two years before retiring. Curado is currently Embraer’s airline market executive vice president. He has been with the company since 1984 and has also held management positions in the areas of production, quality, planning and organization development. The 45-year-old Brazilian has a degree in mechanical and aeronautical engineering, as well as an international MBA. In his current role, Curado has overseen the service entry of the E170/190 jetliners. Embraer is now significantly expanding its business aircraft portfolio with the development of the Phenom 100 and 300 light jets and the Lineage 1000 bizliner. Botelho, who was appointed chairman of the board on March 31, joined Embraer in 1995.

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