Helvetic Airways Embraer E190-E2 makes a record-length flight

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.

The flight was performed under optimum conditions that bear no comparison to regular passenger operations. And with the meteorological conditions also ideal, the crew of José Alfredo Thomé Penna Jr. (Embraer pilot), Almir Suman de Azevedo (Embraer pilot), Giovanni Zanivan (Helvetic Airways pilot), Sebastian Fischer (Helvetic Airways flying engineer) and Bruno Jans (Helvetic Airways project leader) conducted it to perfection.

In regular passenger service, the Embraer E190-E2 has a maximum takeoff weight of 54 tonnes and can transport up to 110 passengers over 5,200 kilometres. With its impressive latest-generation Pratt & Whitney PW1900G engines, the E190-E2 also consumes more than 20% less fuel per seat than its predecessor type.

03 July 2020