Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours has taken delivery of the
two helicopters for its expedition yacht, the Scenic Eclipse, scheduled to
launch in January.
Each Airbus H130 craft has space for a pilot and six
passengers, Scenic said. They have custom leather seats, Boise noise-cancelling
headsets, a Bluetooth connection for music and five cameras fitted to provide
guests footage of their flight. The helicopters also have a rotor blade fold
kit so they take up less space on the ship.
The helicopters were built by Airbus in France, and then
shipped to Australia for interior fitting by Pacific Crown Helicopters.
"Scenic has always sought to venture beyond the horizon,
and with our helicopters we provide guests with the opportunity to enjoy unparalleled access to some
of nature's most beautiful sites," Scenic founder and chairman Glen Moroney said. "We have specifically selected
this model for its wide, unobstructed
cabin space with outstanding visibility for all passengers."
Each helicopter has a base price of $3.3 million and a
range of 268 nautical miles fully loaded, according to Business Jet Traveler
magazine.