Honda Aircraft Company has pushed back the HondaJet Echelon program, with the new light jet now expected to make its first flight in 2028 and enter service in 2031.
The revised schedule represents a substantial delay for the company’s second aircraft program. Honda originally targeted a first flight in 2026, followed by type certification and initial deliveries in 2028.
Honda disclosed the new timeline as it announced the completion of the first wing assembly for the Echelon at its headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina.
According to the company, the revised schedule follows adjustments involving tier-one suppliers and development activities. Honda did not identify specific suppliers responsible for the changes.
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The first aircraft is currently in final assembly, with fuselage sections and other major structures progressing alongside systems installation.
Range of 2,625 nautical miles
Honda formally launched the aircraft, initially known as the HondaJet 2600 Concept, in 2023. The program was subsequently named HondaJet Echelon.
The aircraft will sit above the existing HA-420 HondaJet and is designed to carry up to 11 occupants. Honda is targeting a range of 2,625 nautical miles (4,862 km), allowing nonstop transcontinental flights across the United States.
Unlike the HA-420, which uses the distinctive over-the-wing engine mount configuration, the Echelon is a considerably larger aircraft. It will retain the same basic engine arrangement and will be powered by two Williams International FJ44-4C turbofans.
Honda says the Echelon is being designed to offer fuel efficiency around 20% better than other light jets and more than 40% better than midsize aircraft on a typical mission.
The company has selected Garmin G3000 avionics for the cockpit and Spirit AeroSystems to supply the fuselage. Honda is producing the composite wings at its Greensboro facility.
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More than 530 letters of intent
The longer development schedule comes despite substantial stated customer interest in the aircraft.
Honda said it has accumulated more than 530 letters of intent for the Echelon since announcing plans to commercialize the aircraft. Letters of intent, however, are not equivalent to firm aircraft orders.
The Echelon is intended to expand Honda Aircraft beyond the very light jet segment occupied by the HA-420 and compete with larger business aircraft while retaining operating economics closer to smaller jets.
Its planned range would also make it the first Honda Aircraft product capable of flying nonstop between many city pairs across the continental United States.
Long development history at Honda Aircraft
The revised Echelon timeline adds another lengthy development cycle to Honda’s relatively short history as an aircraft manufacturer.
Honda began research that eventually led to the original HondaJet in 1997. The experimental aircraft made its first flight in December 2003, and Honda announced its decision to commercialize the design in 2006.
The program subsequently encountered several delays. In 2009, Honda moved the planned first delivery from 2010 to late 2011, citing delays involving suppliers.
That target was not met either. The HA-420 eventually received FAA type certification in December 2015, almost 12 years after the first prototype flight and around nine years after Honda decided to commercialize the aircraft.
Honda Aircraft has since developed several improved versions of the HA-420, culminating in the current HondaJet Elite II.
12 HondaJets delivered in 2025
Honda Aircraft also remains a relatively small manufacturer in a business jet market that has expanded in recent years.
Figures from the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) show that manufacturers delivered 854 business jets worldwide in 2025, up from 764 in 2024 and 730 in 2023.
Honda Aircraft delivered 12 HondaJets during 2025, including no aircraft during the second quarter. The company has delivered more than 260 HondaJets since deliveries began in late 2015.
