Bytes It S A Bird It S A Plane It S A Honda

Sure, we all like to fly. But the economics of VLJs may be less than blue-sky. Current forecasts of global demand range wildly. The Federal Aviation Administration sees 5,000 in the United States alone by 2010. Britain’s Inflight Management Development Centre, however, predicts global sales of 850 by 2013. And skeptics like airline analyst Vaughn Cordle, based in Washington, D.C., doubt the market can support a dozen players. The key reason: two thirds of VLJ orders are expected to come from “air taxi” companies, which provide short flights on demand. And for now, the number of profitable air-taxi companies is zero. Honda’s advantage: deep corporate pockets that will help it survive a shakeout. Watch this airspace.