BAe Jetstream 31/32

Updated: October 2026 – Before you see it, you hear it: a high, metallic shriek over the apron, then a strikingly small twin with a low wing and far-forward engine nacelles rolls into view. Chances are you are looking at a BAe Jetstream 31 or 32. For decades the 19-seater was the workhorse on thin regional routes – in Great Britain, in the rest of Europe and above all in North and South America. Here you will learn where the type comes from, how to recognize it and why it is a real collector’s item for spotters today.

What is the BAe Jetstream 31/32?

The Jetstream 31 is a twin-engine turboprop feeder for up to 19 passengers. It was developed by British Aerospace and is at its core a thoroughly reworked version of the Jetstream that Handley Page had brought to market in the late 1960s. The designation Jetstream 32 stands for the uprated version, which BAe also marketed as the Jetstream Super 31.

The cabin is tight: six rows in a 2+1 arrangement with an offset aisle make 18 seats, and in the densest variant 19 passengers fit in. Anyone who has flown in one usually remembers two things – the stooped walk through the low cabin and the noise of the engines. Airlines cared about something else: with at most 19 seats, the aircraft fell into a class with simplified regulations in many countries, for example with no requirement for flight attendants, and it was economical enough to serve even lightly loaded routes profitably.

Besides the classic airliner version there were corporate and shuttle versions with around twelve seats, a quickly convertible quick-change variant for freight and passengers, and special versions for maritime surveillance, among others. You can find more about the group behind the aircraft on the page about BAE Systems.

From Handley Page to British Aerospace

The story of the Jetstream begins at Handley Page. The prototype of the HP.137 Jetstream flew on August 18, 1967 – powered by French Turbomeca Astazou turboprops. The project turned into a financial strain, however: Handley Page went bankrupt after only a few aircraft of the improved Jetstream 2 were finished, and production came to a standstill in 1970. In total, around 66 examples of the original design were built.

The program was rescued by Scottish Aviation, which had previously built the wings at Prestwick. It continued production as the Jetstream 200. In 1972 the Royal Air Force ordered a total of 26 aircraft as the Jetstream T.1 multi-engine trainer; 14 of them were later converted for the Royal Navy into observer trainers and then called the Jetstream T.2.

When Scottish Aviation was absorbed into the nationalized British Aerospace in 1978, BAe took the type in hand again – this time with a clear goal: a modern commuter for the booming regional market, above all in the USA, where numerous small feeder airlines had sprung up after deregulation.

The decisive step with the Jetstream 31 was the engine change. Instead of the Astazou it got Garrett TPE331 turboprops, which now go by the name Honeywell. They delivered more power. Water-methanol injection was optional, allowing the aircraft to take off with a full payload even from hot or high-altitude airfields. In 1993 BAe made “Jetstream” the brand name for its entire family of twin turboprops – the same year the 31/32 production ended.

Jetstream 31 or Jetstream 32?

For spotters this is the trickiest question, because from the outside the two look practically identical. The Jetstream 32 – also listed in documents as the BAe 3200 or Jetstream Super 31 – has uprated TPE331 engines, a higher maximum takeoff weight and better performance on warm days. For existing Jetstream 32s there was later the Jetstream 32EP (“Enhanced Performance”) retrofit package, which mainly improves performance on short runways.

Feature	Jetstream 31	Jetstream 32 (Super 31)
ICAO type designator	JS31	JS32
First flight	1980	1988
Length / wingspan	14.37 m / 15.85 m	14.37 m / 15.85 m
Max. takeoff weight	around 7.0 t	around 7.35 t
Seats	18–19	19
External difference	practically none	practically none

So you determine the variant not with the eye but by the registration. Tracking services and registry databases show the exact type; in Great Britain the public G-INFO register helps. How the system of British registrations works is explained in the article on British G registrations. How to read type designators like JS31 and JS32 in general is covered in the guide ICAO type designators explained.

How to recognize the Jetstream 31/32

The Jetstream is small but full of character. Four observations are usually enough to narrow it down reliably.

The sound in particular is an underrated identification feature. The TPE331 is a single-shaft engine: compressor, turbine and propeller gearbox hang on the same shaft. That produces a completely different sound from the free-turbine engines of the Pratt & Whitney PW100 family in the ATR and Dash 8. Once you have the sound in your ear, you will recognize it again – also on other TPE331 types such as the Fairchild Swearingen Metro or the Dornier Do 228. How to classify aircraft by sound in general is shown in the article Recognizing aircraft types by sound.

Risk of confusion: Jetstream and other small turboprops

Several similarly sized types crowd the 19-seat segment. The finder helps you separate the Jetstream cleanly.

The closest relative is the Jetstream 41. It takes over the basic shape of the nose and the engine concept, but is stretched and designed for up to 29 passengers. Its wing sits beneath the fuselage, so there is no spar step in the cabin. On the Jetstream 31, by contrast, the wing sits conventionally in the lower fuselage area. One size up within the BAe turboprop world is the BAe ATP, a regional airliner with around 70 seats.

Other candidates in the same market segment are the Beechcraft 1900D with standing headroom in the cabin and a T-tail, the Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia with 30 seats and a T-tail, and the Let L-410 Turbolet as a high-wing aircraft. The somewhat larger Saab 340 you recognize by its wider fuselage and the General Electric engines. A structured overview of propeller aircraft in regional service is given in the article Telling turboprops apart.

Eastern Airways and the Jetstream

Hardly any airline is as closely tied to the name Jetstream among British spotters as Eastern Airways. The company was founded in 1997 and began operations on December 1, 1997 – initially on the Humberside–Aberdeen route. Its base was at Humberside Airport in North Lincolnshire, with a second focus at Aberdeen and its flights for the oil and gas industry.

In February 1999 Eastern Airways took over the scheduled operations of Manchester-based Air Kilroe – and with it two Jetstream 32s. These aircraft marked the entry into the Jetstream world. Later the airline built on the larger Jetstream 41, which joined the fleet from 2002 and made up most of the aircraft until the end. In its best years Eastern Airways served a network of feeder routes, shuttle connections to the Shetland airfields of Sumburgh and Scatsta, and government-subsidized links such as Aberdeen–Wick.

For spotters that means: photos of Eastern Jetstreams are archive material today. If you own such pictures, it is worth tagging them properly with registration and date. You can find other British regional airlines that rely on turboprops today in the overview of regional airlines in Europe; Loganair is also a household name for turboprop fans in Scotland.

Where you can still see the Jetstream 31/32 today

The type has become rare. According to industry data, around 70 Jetstream 31s were still in airline service in July 2019, most of them in North and South America and only about 15 in Europe. The number has probably fallen further since then – reliable current figures hardly exist.

Region	Chance of success	Why
North and South America	medium	Most of the active fleet flew there in 2019
Great Britain	low	Former heartland of the type, hardly any scheduled service left after the end of Eastern Airways
Continental Europe	low	Individual operators, charter, training and ferry flights
DACH region	very low	At most one-off flights, charters or maintenance visits

If you are searching deliberately, set a filter on JS31 and JS32 in a tracking service and check which aircraft are currently on the move. If a Jetstream turns up near you, it is often a guest at smaller regional or business aviation airports. How best to work through such airports is explained in the guide Spotting at small regional airports. General strategies for hunting rarities can be found under spotting rare aircraft. If you are traveling to Great Britain, be sure to read Spotting in Great Britain first – special rules apply there.

Photo tips for the Jetstream

Small turboprops are rewarding to photograph but have their pitfalls. The Jetstream is so compact that at the runway edge you often need more focal length than for a medium-haul jet.

Military and special versions

Besides airliner service, the Jetstream 31 also found use with the military. In 1985 the Royal Navy ordered four aircraft as the Jetstream T.3, which were used to train radar observers and later also flew VIP transport. They were supplemented by the older Handley Page derivatives T.1 and T.2 with the RAF and the navy. There was also a maritime surveillance version designated the Jetstream 31EZ.

If you like British aviation history: a visit to Aerospace Bristol offers a good introduction to the world of the British aircraft industry, even though other types are the focus there.

Common mix-ups and how to rule them out

Anyone who collects their sightings systematically will hardly get around the Jetstream: it is one of the types that rarely gets ticked off on any list. You will find tips for building your personal type list in the article Collecting all aircraft types.

Conclusion

The BAe Jetstream 31/32 stands for an era when small 19-seaters formed the backbone of regional air travel. British Aerospace turned the ill-fated Handley Page design into a robust feeder with Garrett engines that flew around the world. In Great Britain it shaped, among other things, the early days of Eastern Airways – an airline that has not existed since October 2025. Today every Jetstream sighting is a small highlight.