Swiss airline Helvetic Airways received its first Embraer E190-E2 commercial jet on Tuesday. The company is the third customer of the new Brazilian aircraft, which is already in Norwegian service Widerøe and Air Astana from Kazakhstan.
Helvetic has ordered a total of 12 E190-E2 jets and the order is expected to be completed by 2021. The Swiss company also has rights to purchase an additional 12 additional aircraft, which can be converted to the larger E2 model, the E195-E2. If the company exercises all of its purchase rights, the order value could rise from $ 730 million to $ 1.5 billion.
Helvetic’s first service with the E190-E2 begins in November. The airline has already scheduled flights with the aircraft from Zurich to destinations in Germany, Hungary, Poland and England.
The Swiss carrier is in the midst of a fleet modernization process. In July, the company sold its last five Fokker 100 and preparation to receive the first E2. Helvetic Airways has another 11 first-generation E190 jets, which will also be gradually replaced by the new generation model.
The E190-E2 received by Helvetic was the eighth jet of the E2 series delivered by Embraer. Widerøe and Air Astana each have three units of the new jet, while Azul recently received its first E195-E2.
