Helvetic Airways has received its first Embraer E190-E2 airliner. This delivery of the aircraft will be the first of many for the Swiss operator.

Fresh delivery

International Flight Network reports that Helvetic is now the third airline to have this aircraft type. The firm joins Widerøe and Air Astana as the first three holders of the E190-E2.

Widerøe currently holds four of these jets. The Norwegian airline received its first one in April 2018 and its last one in June this year. Furthermore, Air Astana operates six planes of this range. The flag carrier of Kazakhstan holds five E190-E2, with one more on order.

Helvetic also has a further 11 E190-E2s on order, which are expected to be delivered by 2021. Along with this, the airline also holds the purchase rights for an additional twelve of the aircraft. However, the airline has the option to convert these models into the larger, E195-E2 version.

Wideroe E190-E2
Widerøe was the first airline to receive an E190-E2 airliner. Photo: Valentin Hintikka via Flickr

Fleet overhaul

The carrier sold the last five of its Fokker 100s to Alliance in July 2019. This now means that Helvetic solely operates a fleet of Embraer aircraft. The fleet consisted of only 11 ERJ-190s, but the addition of the E190-E2 means that the airline will gradually replace this older type with a new range.

During the summer of this year, Helvetic had a problem with one of its ERJ-190s. A Zurich bound flight was forced to return to Milan Malpensa airport shortly after takeoff on 24th August. This was due to reports of unexpected smoke in the cabin. Thereafter, the airline revealed that there was a fault in the air conditioning system, which generated the smoke. Thankfully, no passengers or crew were injured during the incident.

The E190-E2 was only introduced in the spring of last year. Its first flight was a Norwegian affair from Bergen Airport to Tromsø Airport Langnes, operated by Widerøe. Its sibling, the E195-E2 made its first arrival just last month, with Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras receiving one on September 12.

Helvetic Airways Embraer ERJ-190LR
Since this summer, Helvetic has only operated Embraer ERJ-190 aircraft. Photo: Oliver Holzbauer via Flickr

Further growth

Embraer’s new aircraft will likely have a greater presence in Europe next decade due to its proposed partnership with Boeing. However, the group will be eagerly waiting for the outcome of the European Commission investigation. The European Union governing body had opened up an antitrust case following Boeing and Embraer’s proposals.

Ultimately, Helvetic has also shown its intent to continue developing heading into the 2020s by starting the process of revolutionizing its fleet. By dropping its Fokker planes and purchasing further Embraer models, the airline looks to be adopting Scandanavian Airlines' one manufacturer approach. SAS has shared its intent of only operating Airbus by 2023. Now, Helvetic looks to be implementing a similar policy with Embraer.

Simple Flying reached out to Helvetic for comment on its Embraer E190-E2 delivery but did not hear back prior to publication. We will update the article with any further announcements.

Which route do you think will operate the Helvetic’s first E190-E2? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.