Honda Aircraft Says It Settled Its Lawsuit Against Jet-It

The jet maker and fractional operator had battled over customer service and aircraft reliability.

Honda Aircraft has settled a lawsuit with Jet-It, one its biggest customers. [Courtesy: Honda Aircraft]

Honda Aircraft Co. has ended its lawsuit against the fractional company Jet-It. The company said in a statement that it has “reached a confidential settlement agreement” with Jet-It that resulted in dismissal of the lawsuit.

Honda Aircraft, also known as HACI, said Jet It “continues to remain an important customer to   HACI, and HACI will continue to provide service and support.”

Late last year Honda Aircraft filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit against Jet-It, one of its largest customers, in the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. In the suit, Honda alleged that Jet-It had violated terms of certain agreements and made “disparaging comments'' about the aircraft maker. Both companies are based in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Prior to the lawsuit, Glenn Gonzales, the founder and CEO of Jet-It, had claimed that his company suffered significant losses attributable to poor reliability of the Honda aircraft in the company’s fleet and inadequate customer service.

Gonzales had also told customers that the company was adding the Embraer Phenom 300 aircraft to its fleet after having a “disappointing” experience working with Honda Aircraft. At the time Honda said its dispatch reliability stood at 99.7 percent, while Gonzales said it was far less, claiming that “for every nine days that we fly a HondaJet, it requires six days of maintenance.”

Jonathan Welsh is a private pilot who worked as a reporter, editor and columnist with the Wall Street Journal for 21 years, mostly covering the auto industry. His passion for aviation began in childhood with balsa-wood gliders his aunt would buy for him at the corner store. Follow Jonathan on Twitter @JonathanWelsh4

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