Helvetic Airways commits to upgrade Embraer order to E195-E2

Swiss airline Helvetic Airways has signed a commitment to upgrade its remaining firm order with Embraer E195-E2 aircraft.

The move is part of the company’s plans to diversify fleet capacity.

In September 2018, the carrier announced an order of 12 E190-E2s with purchase rights for an additional 12 units, as well as conversion rights to E195-E2.

Embraer has so far delivered five E190-E2s while the remaining seven aircraft, including the four E195-E2s, are expected to be delivered before the end of next year.

Based on the current list prices, the remaining firm order for the seven aircraft is valued at $480m.

The deal now has a total of $1.25bn list price, following the exercise of all purchase rights.

Helvetic Airways CEO Tobias Pogorevc said “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 organisation’s operational flexibility and autonomy.”

The carrier’s E195-E2 will be configured with 134 seats in a single-class layout. They are more sustainable with 10% less fuel consumption per flight and a 30% reduction in CO₂ per passenger.

The E190-E2s features 110 seats.

In April, aerospace company Boeing terminated its master transaction agreement (MTA) with Embraer over unsatisfied MTA conditions.