Helvetic Airways signed a new agreement with Embraer to convert four remaining units from the E190-E2 model to the larger capacity E195-E2 variant. The Swiss carrier today has five new generation aircraft in operation, the most recent received this month, but had postponed the remaining seven jets to 2021.
Now, Helvetic’s fleet of new planes will have eight E190-E2 with 110 seats and four E195-E2 with 134 seats, all scheduled to be delivered by the end of 2021.
“The Embraer E195-E2 strikes a good balance between seating capacity, range, fuel consumption and environmentally friendly operation. With between 120 and 150 seats, it has virtually no competition in the regional aircraft segment. Operating a single fleet – in terms of cockpit – with varying seating capacities will enable us to expand our organization’s operational flexibility and autonomy,” said Tobias Pogorevc, CEO of Helvetic.
The value of the remaining order is $480 million, based on current list prices. Helvetic has rights to purchase another 12 E2 jets, which may be of both models.
During the presentation of the E195-E2 in Zurich in February, Pogorevc had stated that the aircraft had great potential for ordering. “We are talking to Embraer thinking that the 195 would complement the 190 very well. It is quite possible that we will buy the 195,” he said at the time.
Fleet modernization
Helvetic Airways is an Embraer customer with the first generation E190s, but has already operated until recently with the Fokker 100 jet. The airline has an flight network centered on Europe and also operates flights in partnership with Lufthansa and Swiss, which operates the rival Airbus A220.
The agreement with Helvetic is the second that Embraer has managed to convert original orders for larger aircraft. In May, the Brazilian airframer convinced Congo Airlines to exchange the order for two E175 jets for the same number of E190-E2 aircraft.
