Swiss regional airline Helvetic Airways has just opened the first part of its 2022 summer schedules for bookings. The focus in the new schedules is on popular beach-holiday destinations around the Mediterranean Sea. With its advanced and more ecofriendly Embraer E-Jet E2 aircraft fleet, Helvetic Airways is a preferred partner of tour operators who have committed to sustainable travel and tourism.
Helvetic Airways has teamed up with various tour operators to set a joint course next summer to some of the sunniest destinations around the Mediterranean Sea. From July to October 2022 the Swiss regional airline will be deploying its ecofriendly Embraer E-Jet E2 aircraft to provide once-weekly services together with Hotelplan Suisse from Zurich to each of the Greek islands of Crete and Kos. Be it through exploring the surroundings with a rental car, enjoying the thrills of various water sports or just lying on a lounger and listening to the waves, the islands are both firm guarantees of that fine summer feeling.
The same is true of Helvetic’s further Zurich summer destinations of Larnaca on Cyprus and Antalya in Southern Turkey, which will also each receive one weekly service. The Helvetic Airways summer holiday schedules from Zurich are rounded off with flights to the classic leisure destination of Mallorca, which can be booked on www.helvetic.com, via any Hotelplan Suisse brand or through Mallorca travel specialist Universal Reisen.
Helvetic Airways is also gradually restoring its services from Bern for the summer 2022 season, and will be offering flights to some of the finest vacation destinations from Belp Airport from next July to October. These include the Greek islands of Crete, Kos and Rhodes, along with Larnaca (Cyprus) and Antalya (Turkey). Two weekly flights will also be operated to Palma de Mallorca, which is a highly popular destination for relaxing summer holidays among the people of the region around the capital. The summer flight programme from Bern can be booked directly via www.helvetic.com. In addition, the flights can be booked via all Hotelplan Suisse brands and – apart from Rhodes and Larnaca, which are operated exclusively for Hotelplan Suisse – via TUI Suisse. The flights to Mallorca are also available at Universal Reisen.
In addition to its scheduled leisure travel services, Helvetic Airways will also be operating various full-charter flights in summer 2022 from Zurich, Bern and Sion, in collaboration with reputed Swiss-based tour operators and on behalf of Bern-based airline flyBAIR.
‘Fly Greener’: more sustainable vacationing thanks to the advanced Helvetic fleet
“Ecological and sustainability considerations are becoming more and more important within the travel sector, for eco-minded tour operators and private individuals alike,” says Helvetic Airways CEO Tobias Pogorevc. It’s a mindset that is clearly shared by Hotelplan Suisse, which will be taking full advantage of Helvetic Airways’ advanced Embraer E-Jet E2 aircraft fleet for next summer’s flights from Zurich and Bern. “The Hotelplan Group is firmly committed to more sustainable tourism, and to halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050,” confirms Hotelplan Suisse CEO Tim Bachmann. “With its low-emission Embraer aircraft, Helvetic Airways fits perfectly into our sustainability strategy, and that’s why it’s the right flight partner for us.”
Helvetic Airways has totally renewed its aircraft fleet twice already since the company was founded 18 years ago. In introducing the Embraer E190-E2 from 2019 onwards, the airline has reduced its per-seat fuel consumption for a 90-minute flight by 37% compared to the Fokker 100 aircraft which it operated in its early years. The per-seat fuel consumption of the larger Embraer E195-E2, which Helvetic Airways added to its fleet this year, is even 44% lower than that of the Fokker 100.