HondaJet Echelon slips to 2028 first flight
Honda Aircraft says the Echelon light jet is now expected to fly in 2028, with certification and deliveries in 2031. The aircraft is planned for 2,625 nm of range and up to 11 occupants.
Read the brief →Today
The Dispatch
A short briefing every morning: what’s new in the world of private jets, plus an aircraft, a priced route, a fact and a story from the archive.
2026-10-22
Avinode says U.S. charter demand rose 27%
Avinode says U.S. domestic charter demand rose 27% from October 2025 to September 2026, even as actual departures stayed mostly flat. The platform expects hourly charter rates to reach record levels through late 2026.
Read the brief →Jet of the day: Airbus Corporate Jets ACJ320neo
The ACJ320neo is the larger of Airbus's single-aisle corporate jets, with a 90 ft cabin that can be configured for 25 VIP passengers or up to 50 in high-density government layouts. Its 6,000 nm range and cabin altitude of 6,400 ft suit heads of state and large corporate groups, and the first example was delivered to Acropolis Aviation in early 2019. Range 6,000 nm, 25 seats, about $115,000,000 new and roughly $11,000 an hour in fuel and maintenance.
Full profile →Fact of the day
The US Air Force has put the operating cost of the current Air Force One at roughly $200,000 per flight hour. (US Air Force cost-per-flying-hour figures reported by CNN and others)
More numbers →Route of the day: Mumbai → São Paulo
7,439 nautical miles, about 17h 38m in a large jet, roughly $230,679–$359,489 one-way for four — about $73,771 a seat.
Price this route →From the archive, 2015: HondaJet certified after three decades of research
Honda received FAA type certification for the HA-420 HondaJet on 8 December 2015, capping a project that began as a research programme in 1986. Its engines sit on pylons above the wing, freeing cabin space and cutting drag, and Honda built its own engine with GE. Within a few years it was the best-selling very light jet. The engines are built by GE Honda Aero Engines, a joint venture formed in 2004, and Honda assembles the jets in Greensboro, North Carolina.
The full timeline →Spotlight: Drake’s Boeing 767-200ER
A 1996-built 767 that once flew for a Saudi VIP operator, Air Drake came to the rapper through a partnership with Canadian freight airline Cargojet, which is reported to have provided the aircraft in exchange for promotion. The sky-blue livery and interior touches were designed with the late Virgil Abloh, and the cabin seats around 45 in an all-lounge configuration.
The story →Hangar talk: “Kim Kardashian's jet has a strict rule: no shoes, no eating, and don't touch anything.”
MOSTLY TRUE — The no-shoes rule is genuine — guests on her Gulfstream G650ER (nicknamed 'Kim Air') swap footwear for slippers to protect a cabin lined in cashmere. The 'no eating' rule is a stretch: on *The Kardashians* she vetoed pasta and joked 'don't breathe, don't touch a thing', but the aircraft has a galley and passengers do eat. Playful house rules, reported as if they were flight regulations.
The evidence →