Widerøe was the global launch operator of the Embraer E2 in 2018. Andreas Spaeth takes the jump seat on a flight crossing the Arctic Circle to find out how the jet has settled in at the Norwegian carrier.
It’s a relatively mild late summer day in Bergen, Norway’s second biggest city. Situated on the picturesque but notoriously damp west coast, it is officially one of Europe’s most rainy cities. Not today, however. Azure blue skies greet passengers at Flesland Airport, some ten miles south of the downtown district.
Bergen is one of the main bases of Norwegian regional carrier Widerøe and the starting point for its longest non-stop domestic route to Tromsø, a small port city located comfortably within the Arctic Circle. Alongside dramatic fjords, this is the territory of the Embraer E190-E2, which typically flies the 686nm between the two airports three times a day, plus an evening flight via Trondheim. Besides the Tromsø route, the airline also uses the E2 from Bergen on short 25-minute hops to Stavanger, as well as range of other less frequent sorties.
In April 2018, Widerøe became the first airline in the world to launch the Embraer E2 into revenue service. The Bodø-based company cu…
