Helvetic Airways operates Vienna flights for Peoples with payload limits

Beginning on 27 October 2026, Helvetic Airways is scheduled to operate regional scheduled flights connecting Altenrhein and Vienna on behalf of Austrian carrier Peoples under a wet-lease arrangement. This contract includes the aircraft alongside Helvetic flight and cabin crews.

The operational replacement becomes necessary because the single aircraft belonging to Austrian regional carrier Peoples, an Embraer 170, must undergo extensive heavy maintenance. Peoples operates without a spare aircraft in its fleet inventory, prompting the airline to charter the Helvetic Airways Embraer 190 for an undetermined period. According to Peoples, an exact completion date for the ongoing maintenance checks on the Embraer 170 cannot currently be established or foreseen.

Airfield operational performance characteristics at Altenrhein impose operational limits on the larger jet. Owing to the short runway dimensions at Altenrhein, the Embraer 190 faces a strict payload restriction. Consequently, even though the Helvetic Airways aircraft features a higher cabin capacity, only 104 passenger seats can be made available for sale. Peoples confirmed that several passenger seats must remain physically unoccupied throughout the wet lease operations.