Swiss now uses Airbus A220 and Embraer E2

Investor Martin Ebner has purchased a total of twelve Embraer E190-E2s for his airline. Helvetic Airways received the first one on Thursday (31 October). The aircraft with the tail number HB-AZA will be in service as early as Friday morning. It will fly from Zurich to Bremen – using a flight number of Swiss.

Helvetic Airways’ main business is wet-lease-flights flights on behalf of other airlines. The biggest customer is Swiss. Eight of the Embraer E2 jets are firmly planned for the Lufthansa subsidiary. They will be flying to destinations such as Bremen, Budapest, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and Ljubljana. Some Helvetic planes are also in service for the German airline, for example from Munich.

Room for 110 passengers

Swiss will thus become the first airline to operate both the Airbus A220 and the competitor Embraer E2. Both regional jets are currently competing for orders from all over the world. British Airways parent company IAG has yet to make a decision. There it need the replacement of the regional subsidiary BA Cityflyer.

The new E2 jets from Helvetic AIrways can carry 110 passengers. The seat pitch measures between 29 and 30 inches (about 74 to 76 centimetres). The seats are 46 centimetres wide. The cabin will be «more spacious, brighter and quieter», promises the Swiss regional airline.

Charging possible

The new Helvetic E2 jetswill offer something that is currently still rare on short- and medium-haul aircraft in Europe: Passengers can charge their mobile phones at USB sockets. However, there will be no Internet on board.

In addition to the twelve firm orders, Helvetic has also secured options for the purchase of twelve further aircraft. It has not yet been decided whether these options will be exercised.

In the picture gallery you can see pictures of the first Embraer E190-E2 of Helvetic Airways and its cabin.