Wednesday, March 26, 2025, marked another milestone in the 38-year history of London-City Airport (LCY), located in the Docklands area of East London just a stone’s throw from the financial and legal hub of Canary Wharf. At 12:01 local time, an Embraer E195-E2 regional jet operated by Helvetic Airways and registered HB-AZI touched down at the airport, simultaneously taking a place in the airport’s history books.
The aircraft, operating a scheduled flight from Zurich (flight number LX456) on behalf of SWISS International, became the largest ever aircraft to land at the airport on a regular scheduled flight, surpassing even the Airbus A318 that British Airways operated to New York from the airport until 2020. The landing also represented the culmination of four years of work between the carrier and Embraer, with Helvetic first having operated a demonstration flight to London-City Airport in the autumn of 2021.
With a length of 41.5 meters and a total capacity of 134 seats, the E195-E2 will now be used regularly on the SWISS routes from the airport, operated by Helvetic Airways under a wet-lease arrangement with the Swiss national carrier. According to Embraer, the aircraft also offers the lowest fuel consumption per seat of all aircraft operating at London-City – an important factor when considering the location of the airport and the high-density residential areas in the vicinity.
The maiden flight departed Zurich at 11:45 local time. After a flight lasting one hour and 15 minutes, HB-AZI landed on runway 09 just after midday, having flown just south of the airport to give those sitting on the right side of the cabin a good view of the airport and the center of London as it approached. The aircraft sported a special ‘E195-E2 Largest aircraft in LCY’ decal on the rear fuselage for the occasion.
“Due to its steep approach, London-City Airport places high demands on both the aircraft and the specially trained cockpit crews,” said Tobias Pogorevc, CEO of Helvetic Airways, following the aircraft’s safe arrival in London. “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 premiere with the Embraer E190-E2 in 2021. This makes us the only airline in the world to land at London-City with three different Embraer aircraft, allowing us to offer our wet-lease customers the greatest possible flexibility.”
Alison FitzGerald, CEO of London City Airport, said: “We’re delighted to welcome the first commercial flight of the E195-E2 aircraft to London City, which demonstrates our commitment to working with our airlines and manufacturers to introduce cleaner, quieter, new-generation aircraft to the airport. The E195-E2 opens up a range of new and exciting destinations for our passengers, and by using quieter and cleaner aircraft this enables us to grow and meet our passenger cap without increasing the number of flight movements.”
Embraer’s view on the milestone
“London City, where 75% of flights are on Embraer aircraft, is a special place for us. It’s great to celebrate another milestone in the E2 story with our partners from Helvetic Airways and London City”, said Marie-Louise Philippe, Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Head of Region Europe and Central Asia, Embraer Commercial Aviation. “Offering 30% lower CO2 emissions per seat and a 63% smaller noise footprint compared to the previous generation aircraft, the E195-E2 is the largest, most efficient, and most sustainable aircraft certified for LCY.”
Philippe added, “Embraer has developed the world’s first automatic take-off system for aircraft called E2TS – Embraer Enhanced Take-off System. When certified, E2TS will increase the range of the E195-E2, specifically from LCY, from 3,200 km to 4,000 km (1,728nm to 2,160nm), bringing new destinations such as Istanbul, Gran Canaria, Casablanca, Athens, and Cairo and within range of London City for the first time.”
Embraer’s website states that the E195-E2’s regular range, from airfields without London-City’s non-standard steep approach, is 5,500km (3,000nm).
Swiss regional airline Helvetic Airways provides a range of short- and medium-haul air services from and to various Swiss airports. The carrier deploys its Embraer E190-E2, E195-E2 as well as E190 and E195 aircraft on scheduled, charter and wet-lease flights. Up to 15 Helvetic Airways aircraft are currently being operated on behalf of SWISS International Air Lines under a long-term wet-lease agreement.
SWISS itself also operates some flights from Zurich to London-City Airport using its own aircraft in the form of 125-seat Airbus A220-100s, of which it currently has nine.