Airlines Helvetic Airways confirms order for 12 E190-E2

The agreement was initially announced as a Letter of Intent (LoI) at the Farnborough International Air Show in July 2018. Now, this LoI was converted into a firm order. Based on current list prices, the order has a value of approximately US$ 730 million and will be included in the third-quarter backlog of Embraer.

Included in the purchase deal are options to manufacture 12 additional E190-E2 aircraft. Helvetic Airways also holds conversion rights for the E195-E2. Potentially, Helvetic could order up to 24 E2 jets.

The official announcement from both sides was made during the E2´s debut at Zurich Airport. The state-of-the-art aircraft is currently on a tour through Europe.

On FIA18, Tobias Pogorevc, CEO of Helvetic Airways, said: "[...] with the new E2 family, Helvetic will consolidate its highly reliable operation with the quietest and most efficient next generation aircraft available. Furthermore, moving from the current E190 to the E2 fleet will be simple for our well-trained pilots as only two and half days of ‘non-simulator’ transition training is needed.”

The first seven E190 and five Fokker 100 will be replaced by the 12 E190-E2 until 2021. Helvetic Airways is expecting the delivery of its first E2 in 2019. With the fleet renewal, Helvetic hopes to enhance its operational costs and the passenger experience.

Embraer has already delivered three Embraer E190-E2 to Norwegian regional airline and launch customer Wideroe. The carrier is utilizing the aircraft on routes from Bergen to European destinations.

Helvetic Airways is a Swiss airline, with its headquarters at Zürich Airport. The carrier was founded in 2003 and operates from Bern and Zürich. Its fleet consists of seven E190s and five Fokker 100s. Helvetic regularly operates flights on behalf of Swiss International Air Lines and Lufthansa. Business destinations on own behalf are being served as well.