Exclusive flight: The airship Zeppelin NT can take up to 14 passengers.
Image: Werner Rudhart / VISUM
The Zeppelin NT fills a niche in the sightseeing flight and charter market in Germany. It is unclear whether hybrid electric drives can also be used one day. So far, the engines have been fueled with aviation fuel.
An the sky above Lake Constance, the quiet, leisurely gliding of the gondola under a giant cigar can be observed almost every day in good weather – we are talking about the Zeppelin NT, the addition of which stands for new technology. “In Friedrichshafen, the zeppelin is part of the landscape again,” says Eckhard Breuer, Managing Director of Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH & Co. KG (ZLT). The vehicle is the only airship in the world licensed for commercial passenger operations. Its prototype took off on its first flight in September 1997.
There are currently two such airships in Germany. The 75 meter long airship can take up to 14 passengers on a scenic flight. It’s filled with helium and doesn’t ride like a hot air balloon, but flies because it’s heavier than air. The new flying cigar is not only on the move around Lake Constance, but also regularly makes trips to other regions of Germany. “We are continuing to expand the sightseeing flight and charter market in Germany. We have discovered a niche for ourselves and fill it quite well,” says Breuer, who has been running the business for five years.