Helvetic Airways makes history at London City Airport for the second time in three and a half years: The Swiss regional airline became the first commercial airline in the world to land an Embraer E190-E2 at London City Airport in autumn 2021. Today, March 26, 2025, the Helvetic Airways Embraer E195-E2 was the first aircraft of its type to land on the runway at London City Airport as part of a scheduled flight. With a length of 41.5 meters and a total of 134 seats, the E195-E2 is now the largest aircraft flying from London City Airport. The E195-E2 also has the lowest fuel consumption per seat of all aircraft operating at London City Airport.
Due to its steep approach, London City Airport places high demands on both the aircraft and the specially trained cabin crews. Helvetic Airways has both, and we are proud to be the first airline to bring the larger E195-E2 to London City Airport, following its debut with the Embraer E190-E2 in 2021. This makes us the only airline in the world to land in the City of London with three different Embraer aircraft, allowing us to offer our wet lease customers the greatest possible flexibility, said Tobias Pogorevc, CEO of Helvetic Airways, in London during the inaugural flight celebrations. The flight, operated by Helvetic Airways on behalf of Swiss International Air Lines on a wet-lease basis, departed from Zurich at 11:30 a.m. and landed at London City Airport shortly after midday.
Alison FitzGerald, London City Airport’s chief executive, said: “We are delighted to welcome the first commercial flight of the E195-E2 aircraft to London City Airport, demonstrating our commitment to working with our airlines and manufacturers to introduce new generation, cleaner, quieter aircraft to the airport.
The E195-E2 opens up a range of exciting new destinations for our passengers. By using quieter, cleaner aircraft, we can grow and meet our passenger capacity limit without increasing the number of flights.
“London City, where 75% of flights are operated by Embraer aircraft, is a special place for us. It is a pleasure to celebrate another milestone in the history of the E2 with our partners at Helvetic Airways and London City“,” said Marie-Louise Philippe, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Head of the Europe and Central Asia Region at Embraer Commercial Aviation. “With 30% lower CO2 emissions per seat and a 63% smaller noise footprint compared to the previous generation, the E195-E2 is the largest, most efficient, and most sustainable aircraft certified for long-haul (LCY) flights.”
Philippe added: “Embraer has developed the world’s first automatic takeoff system for aircraft, called E2TS (Embraer Enhanced Takeoff System). Once certified, the E2TS will increase the E195-E2‘s range, specifically from London City International Airport (LCY), from 3,200 km to 4,000 km. This will allow us to reach new destinations such as Istanbul, Gran Canaria, Casablanca, Athens, and Cairo, and for the first time, within reach of the City of London.
