The Fairchild Dornier 428JET was a program undertaken by American company
Fairchild Dornier to develop a 44-seat
regional jet
A regional jet (RJ) is a jet-powered regional airliner with fewer than 100 seats. The first one was the Sud-Aviation Caravelle in 1959, followed by the widespread Yakovlev Yak-40, Fokker F-28, and BAe 146. The 1990s saw the emergence of ...
aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engine ...
. The program was part of a broader attempt by the company to develop a family of regional jets, comprising the
328JET, 428JET, and the
728 series. This family of aircraft was designed to compete with the
Bombardier CRJ
The Bombardier CRJ or CRJ Series (for Canadair Regional Jet) is a family of regional jets introduced in 1991 by Bombardier Aerospace. The CRJ was formerly manufactured by Bombardier Aerospace with the manufacturing of the first CRJ generation, ...
and
Embraer ERJ/
Embraer E-Jets
The Embraer E-Jet family is a series of four-abreast narrow-body short- to medium-range twin-engine jet airliners designed and produced by the Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer.
The E-Jet was designed as a complement to the preceding E ...
families. The aircraft was announced on May 19, 1998.
It was cancelled in August 2000.
[
]
Design and development
The 428JET would have been a stretched version of the 328JET, seating 44 in comparison to the 328JET's 34. Additionally, the two aircraft would have shared the same type rating
A type rating is an authorization entered on or associated with a pilot licence and forming part thereof, stating pilot's privileges or limitations pertaining to certain aircraft type. Such qualification requires additional training beyond the s ...
. Plans were for the 428JET to be assembled in Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
by Israel Aerospace Industries
Israel Aerospace Industries (Hebrew: התעשייה האווירית לישראל ''ha-ta'asiya ha-avirit le-yisra'el'') or IAI (תע"א) is Israel's major aerospace and aviation manufacturer, producing aerial and astronautic systems for both mi ...
.428JET to be built in Israel
, Flug Revue. Retrieved 2008-01-04.
In the end, changing market conditions made a 44-seat airplane like the 428JET inferior to 50 seat aircraft, which have nearly the same operating and procurement costs yet higher profits due to having more seats.
This caused the company to cancel the 428JET on August 8, 2000.
Orders
At the time of cancellation, the aircraft had 39 firm orders with another 88 options (55 of these options could be taken on either the 328JET or 428JET).
Companies ordering the airplane were
Atlantic Coast Airlines
Atlantic Coast Airlines (ACA) was an airline based in the United States owned by Atlantic Coast Holdings, Inc. It operated as United Express for United Airlines and Delta Connection for Delta Air Lines. It was headquartered in the Dulles area o ...
(30),
Skyway Airlines
Skyway Airlines was an American ramp and aircraft ground handling services and catering company based in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Until April 5, 2008, it operated as a regional airline and banner carrier exclusively for Midwest Express Airlines (w ...
(5), and
Air Alps Aviation (4),
Air One
Air One S.p.A. was an Italian low-cost airline which operated as Air One "Smart Carrier". It operated as Alitalia's low-cost carrier subsidiary with operating bases located in Catania–Fontanarossa Airport, Palermo Falcone–Borsellino Airpo ...
CityLiner (2).
Specifications
See also
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fairchild Dornier 428jet
Abandoned civil aircraft projects
428
428JET
Twinjets
High-wing aircraft
T-tail aircraft
de:Dornier 428JET