Fairchild Dornier 328JET

Updated: October 2026 – A small jet taxis to the runway, and something about the picture is off: the wing sits on top of the fuselage, two engines hang beneath it, and a T-tail towers at the back. Not an Embraer, not a Bombardier – this is a Fairchild Dornier 328JET. The 30-seater from Oberpfaffenhofen is one of the most unusual regional jets ever, and with only 110 built, one of the rarest. Here you will learn how the jet version of the Dornier 328 came about, what lets you recognize it instantly, who has flown it and why it is mostly seen today as a charter and business jet.

What is the 328JET?

The 328JET is the jet version of the Dornier 328, a high-wing turboprop for just over 30 passengers. The turboprop 328 first flew in December 1991 and was a modern, fast regional aircraft. In the 1990s, however, airlines and passengers increasingly demanded jets. Dornier therefore studied a turbofan variant, internally first called the 328-300.

The project got its decisive boost when the US manufacturer Fairchild took a majority stake in Dornier Luftfahrt in June 1996. Under the new name Fairchild Dornier, the program officially started in February 1997. For power, the engineers chose the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW306. The production version, the PW306B, delivers around 26.9 kN of thrust.

The clever part of the concept: only comparatively few changes had to be made to the airframe. The turboprop 328 had been designed conservatively in structural terms, so it could accept the jet engines without major rework. Fuselage, cabin, wing and T-tail stayed largely the same – which saved development time and cost. Slightly shortening the trailing-edge flaps allowed a higher cruise speed of around 400 knots.

The first prototype, a converted turboprop 328, rolled out of the hangar on December 6, 1997. On January 20, 1998, it took off from Oberpfaffenhofen for its maiden flight, which lasted almost two hours. Problems with the brakes and landing gear shock absorbers delayed certification by a few months; in July 1999, the European JAA granted type certification, with the US FAA following shortly after.

The rise and fall of Fairchild Dornier

At the end of the 1990s, things looked good for the program. The launch customer was the French regional airline Proteus Airlines, which ordered six aircraft in June 1997. By the end of 1997, the manufacturer reported 17 firm orders and 15 options and spoke of a possible market for several hundred aircraft. Fairchild Dornier even planned an entire jet family: the stretched 428JET with 44 seats and above it the larger 728 and 928.

But the math didn’t work out. The 428JET was halted in August 2000, and after the attacks of September 11, 2001, demand for air travel collapsed. In April 2002, Fairchild Dornier filed for insolvency. By then, the vast majority of the 110 aircraft in total of the 328JET had been built.

The rights to the 328 program passed to AvCraft Aviation in March 2003, which took over a few partly finished aircraft but itself failed after less than three years. In June 2006, 328 Support Services acquired the type certificate and concentrated on maintenance and spare parts for the existing fleet. In 2015, the US company Sierra Nevada Corporation bought the company, which now operates as Deutsche Aircraft. A Turkish project to relaunch the 328 as a turboprop and jet in Turkey was abandoned in October 2017 because of rising costs. Deutsche Aircraft is developing a new edition in the D328eco – but as a turboprop. The 328JET thus remains a closed production run.

The three features that are enough to identify it

The 328JET has a silhouette like no other. If you see a small jet and do a double take, check these three points.

The registration provides the final confirmation and often tells you the operator too. How to read and assign registrations is explained in the guide Understanding aircraft registrations. If you want to know how old the aircraft in front of you is, Finding out an aircraft’s age helps – with the 328JET, you almost always land between 1999 and 2002.

328JET, Dornier 328, ERJ or Avro RJ?

Mix-ups happen mostly at long distances or in backlight. The candidates are the turboprop Dornier 328, the Embraer regional jets ERJ 135 and ERJ 145, the Bombardier CRJ200 and the four-engine Avro RJ70. The finder narrows it down in three steps.

Feature	328JET	Dornier 328	ERJ 135	Avro RJ70
ICAO type designator	J328	D328	E135	RJ70
Wing	high	high	low	high
Propulsion	2 turbofans under the wing	2 turboprops	2 turbofans at the rear	4 turbofans under the wing
Tail	T-tail	T-tail	T-tail	T-tail
Passengers	30–33	around 30–33	around 37	around 70–80

For a broader overview of the small jets, see the article Identifying regional jets. The older, angular Dornier 228, by contrast, is a much smaller turboprop without a pressurized cabin and with a conventional tail – despite the name, not a candidate for confusion.

The operators: from Delta Connection to Billund

The 328JET had its heyday around the turn of the millennium in the US. The largest single operator was Atlantic Coast Airlines, which used more than 30 aircraft as Delta Connection from 2000 to 2005. Skyway Airlines, the feeder of Midwest Airlines from Milwaukee, flew twelve 328JETs. Smaller US airlines such as Great Plains Airlines with four aircraft followed. The idea behind it: routes where a 50-seater was too big were still to be served by a jet.

In Europe, the French Proteus Airlines was the launch customer; in Germany, Cirrus Airlines, among others, flew the type. In China, Grand China Express, the predecessor of Tianjin Airlines, started scheduled service with the 328JET in the late 2000s.

For many spotters in northern Germany and Scandinavia, though, the 328JET is inseparably linked with Sun-Air of Scandinavia. The family-run airline from Billund Airport flew from 1996 to 2025 as a franchise partner of British Airways and, at the end of 2019, with 14 jets was the largest operator of the 328JET. Small jet, Danish registration, BA livery – a sight that could be seen in Billund, Aarhus and at Friedrichshafen Airport, among other places. Since the end of March 2025, Sun-Air no longer flies scheduled service, only charter.

In North America, smaller operators lasted longest. Ultimate Air Shuttle flew 30-seat 328JETs from Lunken Field in Cincinnati to several major cities, Key Lime Air used the type under the Denver Air Connection brand, and Canada’s Calm Air used a 328JET as the first jet in its fleet. There were also single aircraft with Air Peace in Nigeria and Sepehran Airlines in Iran. This information comes from fleet overviews from 2019 – it is best to check current data for which aircraft are still active today.

Bizjet, corporate shuttle, air ambulance: the second life

Precisely because the airline fleets have shrunk, you often meet the 328JET today in a very different role. As early as 1998, Fairchild Dornier promoted a corporate version under the name Envoy 3 – a 328JET with a business travel cabin and greater range. With an optional auxiliary tank, the type reaches up to around 2,700 kilometers.

The appeal for companies and charter customers is obvious: the 328JET offers an airliner cabin for around 30 people, so much more space than a classic business jet, plus jet speed on short and medium routes. At the same time, used examples are inexpensive compared with large airliner-based bizjets such as the Boeing BBJ. The Embraer Legacy 600, which is based on the ERJ 135, follows a similar idea – but it is a low-wing aircraft with rear-mounted engines.

Over the years, this led to several conversions of former airline aircraft:

• VIP and charter jets with lounge seating, often with smaller European and North American charter providers
• Corporate shuttles – Pratt & Whitney Canada used a 328JET to move employees between sites
• Air ambulances for intensive care transport, including in Germany, Colombia and Australia
• Shuttle services away from the hubs, as with Ultimate Air Shuttle, which flew from small Lunken Field in Cincinnati

For spotters, that means: a 328JET is more likely to land at a business or regional airport than at a big hub – and often without a flight number in the public schedule. You can read how to catch such visitors in Spotting business jets.

Where to find the 328JET

In the German-speaking region, the 328JET is a lucky find. There is practically no scheduled service left; you meet the type mainly on charter, corporate and air ambulance flights.

Place	Chance of a hit	Why
Oberpfaffenhofen	occasional	Home of Deutsche Aircraft, maintenance and support of the 328 fleet
Regional and business airports	occasional	Charter, VIP and air ambulance flights
Billund / Denmark	occasional	Home of Sun-Air, now in charter operation
Large hubs such as Munich	low	Mostly general aviation visitors, often away from the terminals
USA	medium	Smaller charter and regional operators

At Munich Airport, such visitors usually park on the general aviation aprons. Around Friedrichshafen, a visit to the Dornier Museum is also worthwhile; it tells the company’s history from the early flying boats to the 328 family. For smaller airfields, you will find tips in the article Spotting at small regional airports.

The most important trick: filter flight tracking by J328. Because many charter and air ambulance flights appear in no flight schedule, ADS-B is often your only advance warning. The guide Flight tracking with ADS-B explains how that works. More strategies for unusual types are in Spotting rare aircraft, and if you would like to fly on one yourself, see Flying rare aircraft types as a passenger.

Photo tips especially for the 328JET

The 328JET is small, and it looks smaller in the viewfinder than you think. With a wingspan of around 21 meters, you need more focal length than for an A320.

You can work out in advance when the light works at your vantage point with the guide Planning the sun position for your photo spot.

Common mix-ups and how to rule them out

Conclusion

The 328JET is a fascinating chapter of German aviation history: a clever, quickly developed jet based on a proven turboprop that arrived at the wrong time. Only 110 were built before Fairchild Dornier collapsed in 2002. Today the type flies mainly on charter, as a corporate shuttle, VIP jet or air ambulance. For spotters, it is a true collector’s item – rare, but instantly recognizable thanks to its unique silhouette.