After three decades building an airplane from scratch, Michimasa Fujino, 56, chief engineer of the Hondajet, might have to reach a ripe old age to see Honda Motor Co's pet aviation project recoup its development costs.
Honda has declined to reveal the costs, but the automaker has been researching aircraft development since 1986, and Richard Aboulafia, vice president of analysis at aerospace consulting firm Teal Group, thinks it has likely spent roughly $1 billion on the jet programme since the early 2000s - more than double the $400 million typical for similar jets.
A five-year delivery delay and developing its own engine bumped up the bill.
The company that gave the world the Honda Civic, which revolutionised compact cars in the United States in the 1970s, is betting its $4.5 million dollar, six-seater light business jet, the first aircraft developed by an automaker since World War Two, will expand the fuel-efficient private jet market.
The jet began deliveries in late 2015 and is priced slightly higher than competitors in the conservative light businessjet segment.
