AvCraft Aviation, new owner of the ex-Fairchild Dornier 328JET programme, has delivered its first aircraft, with Chinese regional carrier Hainan Airlines taking the first of eight on order.
Before its collapse in 2002, Fairchild Dornier delivered 19 328JETs to Hainan, and held orders for a further 21 aircraft. This order has now been reduced to eight, with the remaining aircraft due to be delivered "over the coming weeks", says Avcraft.
With another long-standing order from UK startup Air Omega for four aircraft having been cancelled, AvCraft's only other firm customer is German business charter operator Aero-Dienst, which holds three orders for the corporate Envoy 3 version. This leaves AvCraft with seven unplaced whitetails, casting doubt on plans to restart the Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, production line by year-end.
Source: Flight International