Warsaw, April 23rd, 2018 – HondaJet Central Europe has announced that the region’s first HondaJet available for charter has made its official debut with an appearance event at the Chopin-Warsaw Airport. The debut took place on April 12th and was attended by many high-level executives and dignitaries including His Excellency Satoru Takahashi, the Japanese Ambassador to Poland. Honda Aircraft Company was represented at the event by Simon Roads, Senior Division Director of Sales and GE Honda Aero Engines was represented by Steven Shaknaitis, Executive Vice President. The aircraft is owned by Chopin Vodka and is the first HondaJet available for private charter in Eastern Europe and charter throughout Europe, the United Kingdom, Russia and Scandinavia
Chopin Vodka CEO and Founder Tadeusz Dorda was on hand to accept the aircraft, he commented “Honda Aircraft Company’s President and CEO Michimasa Fujino has not only abandoned the notion of what is considered conventional aviation, he has redefined the category. I have the same passion to elevate the spirits category.” When asked about the recent acquisition Dorda said “Whether someone is wanting a vacation getaway or hosting a meeting in the top business hubs of Europe the HondaJet will deliver. It is a game changer.”
Delivered to Poland in early March, the Chopin HondaJet features many modifications tailored to the European market. The aircraft will be managed and operated by JetStory, recently named the “Best Foreign Business Airline” by Wings of Business.
According to Steve Shaknaitis, EVP of GE Honda Aero Engines, “The class-leading HF120 engine was designed by a global team including Honda R&D from Tokyo, Japan, and a GE team from the Engineering Design Center right here in Warsaw.”
About HondaJet
Designed by Honda Aircraft Company’s President and CEO Michimasa Fujino, the HondaJet is a game changer in the business aviation industry. An advanced light jet, the HondaJet was the most delivered aircraft in its category in 2017, has broken 13 speed records and has been certified and delivered in countries around the globe.
A clean-sheet aircraft, the HondaJet was created to provide the customer the best value by utilizing advanced technologies, including the unconventional Over-the-Wing Engine Mount (OTWEM), a newly developed natural laminar flow (NLF) wing and fuselage nose as well as a composite fuselage. These innovations contribute to the aircraft’s superior performance, allowing it to fly higher (maximum cruise altitude of FL430) and faster (maximum cruise speed of 422 knots) than its direct competitors, which results in a shorter flight time, unparalleled efficiency and exceptionally smooth riding quality.
The HondaJet’s unique OTWEM design also minimizes noise and maximizes available fuselage space, making the aircraft’s cabin and baggage capacity the largest in its category. The HondaJet can seat up to six passengers and has a completely private lavatory with a full-size toilet, sink with running water and mirror.
The significant aeronautical breakthroughs engineered by Honda Aircraft coupled with the fuel efficient GE Honda Aero Engines’ HF120 engines allow the HondaJet to be operated with an ultimately reduced cost of operation. Tight tolerance controls and exceptional build quality deliver low fan and core vibration levels contribute to lower vibration of cabin structure.
The HondaJet is the fastest, highest-flying, quietest, and most fuel-efficient jet in its class. The HondaJet incorporates many technological innovations in aviation design, including the unique Over-The-Wing Engine Mount (OTWEM) configuration that dramatically improves performance and fuel efficiency by reducing aerodynamic drag. The OTWEM design also reduces cabin sound, minimizes ground-detected noise, and allows for the roomiest cabin in its class, the largest baggage capacity, and a fully serviceable private aft lavatory. The HondaJet is equipped with the most sophisticated glass flight deck available in any light business jet, a Honda-customized Garmin® G3000 The HondaJet is Honda’s first commercial aircraft and lives up to the company’s reputation for superior performance, efficiency, quality and value.
For more information, visit hondajet.com.
About Honda Aircraft Company
Honda Aircraft Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. Founded in 2006, Honda Aircraft is responsible for the design, manufacturing, sales, service and support of the HondaJet. The company’s world headquarters is located in Greensboro, North Carolina, the birthplace of aviation. The challenging spirit upon which Mr. Soichiro Honda founded Honda Motor Co., Ltd. is alive today as Honda Aircraft fulfills one of Honda’s longstanding dreams to advance human mobility skyward
About GE Honda Aero Engines
GE and Honda formed a 50/50 joint venture in 2004, called GE Honda Aero Engines, based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The joint company integrates the resources of GE Aviation and Honda Aero, Inc., a Honda subsidiary established to manage its aviation engine business.
About Engineering Design Center (EDC)
Engineering Design Center is an engineering alliance between General Electric Company Polska Sp. z o.o. and Institute of Aviation in Warsaw. We design, support manufacturing and provide service for the products from the fields of Aviation, Power, Transportation and Oil&Gas, creating not only traditional, but also digital and additive solution. We also conduct research and perform tests.
About Chopin Vodka
Widely regarded as the world’s top vodka distillers, Chopin Vodka is distilled from local ingredients grown in Podlasie, Poland (100km east of Warsaw). The entire distillation process – from sourcing, cooking, fermenting and distilling raw ingredients, to bottling – is carefully tended on the Dorda family property. Chopin was the first to debut ultra-luxury vodka in 1993, the first to sell its products in its patented frosted bottle with a clear window – a design that has since redefined the vodka sector, and the only brand in the world to produce a range of distinctive vodkas from different ingredients. In addition to producing three single-ingredient vodkas – potato, rye and wheat – to showcase just how different vodkas can be, Chopin also offers a limited-edition line of SINGLE, once distilled spirits, and a duo of Dorda Liqueurs. Naturally gluten-free, Chopin Vodka is the best-selling potato vodka in the U.S. It has been named one of the best vodkas by the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and the Los Angeles International Spirits Competition for the past eight years consecutively with Chopin Potato being the most awarded potato vodka in the world.