Embraer celebrated the delivery of its 1,600th E-Jet, an E190-E2. Helvetic Airways of Switzerland received the milestone aircraft (registration HB-AZE). Airlines and leasing companies from some 50 countries have added Embraer E-Jets to their fleets since the first-generation jets entered revenue service in 2004. The new, highly fuel-efficient second-generation E-Jets family, the E2s, started flying with airlines in 2018.
Helvetic Airways is currently transitioning from a fleet of first-generation E-Jets to E2s. The carrier received its first E190-E2 in October 2019 and has added four more since as part of its fleet renewal program. Helvetic flies the airplanes in a 110-seat single-class configuration on domestic and international routes. The carrier has firm orders for 12 E190-E2s and purchase rights for a further 12 E190-E2s with conversion rights to the E195-E2, bringing the total potential order to 24 E2 aircraft.
The delivery of the seven remaining E2s could be staggered due to the COVID-19 situation. This is expected to continue in 2021.
The transatlantic delivery flight for the latest member of Helvetic Airways’ flagship Embraer E190-E2 fleet took the aircraft from Natal, the capital of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Norte, to Zurich in Switzerland. Helvetic Airways’ fifth new E190-E2 left Brazil at 06:37 (local time) on Thursday 2 July and landed in Zurich at 20:48 (local time) the same evening. The non-stop flight had taken 9 hours and 10 minutes and totalled 7 488 kilometres – numbers more usually associated with a long-haul aircraft than with a short- to medium-haul jet.
