Honda Aircraft to Open Maintenance Centre in Panama

[Keith Woolford]

HONDA Aircraft to Open Maintenance Centre in Panama

The Japanese car manufacturer Honda will establish the first service center in Latin America for HondaJet aircraft in the Panamanian capital, a representative of the company reported this Monday.

"The company needed a central point, and Panama with its geopolitical characteristics, and economic security to invest, became the most suitable site to install the first service center for the executive aircraft of Honda," explained Guillermo Suárez, the Hondajet Sales Manager for the Middle Americas, to journalists.

The facilities will be in a hangar at the Panama Pacific International Airport, about 5 kilometers west of the Panamanian capital, has scheduled its construction, and the investment will be millionaire, said Suárez without precise figures.

"We are going to receive the aircraft that we sell in the region, there will be service and maintenance at a workshop of the factory," he said.

Suarez said he hoped that, in the operation of the workshop around 25 people will be employed, mostly under agreements with the Technological University of Panama (UTP).

"We'll have an internship program with related careers of aeronautical maintenance which gives the Technological University of Panama, we are going to give an opportunity to the national talent so that they can work with Honda," the executive said.

In addition, Suarez said that young people may be brought to the Honda factory in North Carolina in the United States for training, and that several will become instructors to specialize in the management of the executive jets.

Honda Aircraft Company named Sejiro Yazawa Iwai Aviation as a distributor HondaJet in Panama to provide sales and service. After the approvals of the regulatory authorities in the country it's expected to sell about 8 aircraft in the coming years.

Until now the only authorized center for inspection of the HondaJet aircraft is located in the United States, so that Panama will become a strategic axis for the Japanese company.

The market that includes the Middle Americas includes Central America, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Suriname and Guyana.

At present, the Hondajet fleet of 70 aircraft is delivered in Mexico, the United States, Brazil and Europe. Each ship has a cost of $4.9 million.

The HondaJet jet aircraft is the world's most advanced lightweight, and its distinctive design incorporates advanced technologies and concepts. The mounting configuration of the engines on the wings (OTWEM, for its acronym in English) of the plane, wing and front part of the fuselage of natural laminar flow, and the fuselage made of composite material are the result of long term research.

The combination of these innovations makes the HondaJet, the faster reaction to aircraft, flying at a higher altitude, quieter and better efficiency of consumption in its class.

The HondaJet is powered by two engines with dual-flow turbojet GE Honda HF120 that allow great savings in fuel, and has a range of 2,185 kilometers.

It flew for the first time in March 2015 and since then has made several tours showing their models, the last being in Latin America.

http://www.telemetro.com/nacionales/Honda-Panama-mantenimiento-aeronautico-ALatina_0_1060094663.html

freetranslation

Edited September 4, 2017 by Keith Woolford

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An Aeronautical Maintenance Center in Panama

HondaJet may be planning to set up an aircraft maintenance center at Panama Pacifico airport to provide maintenance services to the aircraft it sells in the region.

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

The Honda Aeronautical Maintenance Center could be built on the premises of the Panama Pacifico International Airport, and would be the only center in the region authorized to carry out inspections of HondaJet aircraft.

Hondajet Middle Americas sales manager, Guillermo Suárez, explained to reporters that "... "The company needed a central point, and Panama with its geopolitical, economic and security investment features, became the most suitable place to set up the first service center for Honda's executive aircraft. We will receive the aircraft that we sell in the region, these will be given maintenance services in a workshop in the factory."

Laestrella.com.pa reports that "...Honda Aircraft Company named Sejiro Yazawa Iwai Aviation as a HondaJet dealer in Panama to provide sales and service. Following approvals from regulatory authorities in the country, it is expected that about 8 aircraft will be sold in the coming years."

 

http://www.centralamericadata.com/en/article/main/An_Aeronautical_Maintenance_Center_in_Panama