After decades in development, Honda's jets quietly evolving

Honda spending billions on jets for a few billionaires who will contribute to global climate change by using them. The money would be way better spent on giving raises or improving social security benefits to Honda's existing employees.

as the company better known for cars and lawnmowers

I think its motorbikes are more widely known.

Honda's success and Mitsubishi's failure makes an excellent comparison case study.

Honda accepted that it had zero experience in building aircraft, so it decided to found the Honda Aircraft corp in the US utilizing US talents. Honda Aircraft is basically an all US company with Japanese investment. Because HondaJet was developed by US experts in the US, it went through FAA certification process relatively easily.

Mitsubishi's MRJ by comparison was an all Japan effort. Because Japan supplied 30% of some Boeing airliner's structure, Mitsubishi falsely believed it too could build an airliner just like Boeing could. So all development effort was concentrated in Japan, no outside expert consultation was sought, and non-English speaking Japanese engineers designed the MRJ by reading the Japanese translated version of FAA certification regulation. The end result was that the first version of MRJ flunked the FAA certification and was forced to redesign, hence the current MRJ MK.2 which is being redesigned in the US and Canada utilizing American and former Bombardier engineers. Mitsubishi learned its lesson the hard way, but the MRJ will now never break even because of the 10 year delay and tripling of cost overruns, and the Japanese government abandoned the "All Japan" fighter jet and is seeking to import because it doesn't trust Mitsubishi's ability to deliver on time and on budget after the MRJ disaster.

So what does this tell you? The days of "All Japan" ways of doing business is over, Japanese companies must transform itself so that its Japanese employees can interact and co-work with foreign employees seamlessly, all in English. So as long as Japan lags behind Korea and China in English proficiency, its corporations cannot compete with their corporations.

wht are they good for? Absolutely nothin'.for

for Relax-ing, don't do nothing, and still get to it...in style, if you know the way to San Jose.

Pivate jets, good gawd. wht are they good for? Absolutely nothin'.

maybe not for Japan, but in the US where obtaining your pilots licence is considerable cheaper than in Japan, also the US has 1000s of airports and regional airstrips throughout the country so people who have the money and travel a lot can get to their destination much faster than by car / bus

When people are traveling by airplane, and see that the airline has a Honda jet as part of its fleet . . . it appears intriguing.

Pivate jets, good gawd. wht are they good for? Absolutely nothin'.