Benz takes to the air
Mercedes-Benz Airport Express to Melbourne CBD in eight minutes – at a costUPDATE July 25, 8:00pm: Air Melbourne advises its new twin-engine Augusta helicopter (not pictured) will slash the commute time of its airport-city service to around just four minutes.
Visitors to Melbourne will soon have the option of travelling from Mercedes-Benz Airport Express at Melbourne Airport to the CBD in as little as eight minutes.
In a first for the Victorian capital, local helicopter operator Air Melbourne will open a new helipad at the German brand’s Melbourne Airport dealership designed specifically to transport corporate travellers to the CBD by air.
To be operational by the Melbourne Cup on November 5, the service will employ new Italian-made Agusta helicopters with twin engines – a prerequisite for many corporate customers – to fly between Melbourne International Airport and the company’s publicly accessible helipad on the Yarra River at South Wharf.
Priced at $249 plus GST per person one-way, with seating for up to five initially, the new Tullamarine-CBD service is aimed at VIP, corporate, tourist and local business customers and will be operational seven days a week during daylight hours.
Combined with an available fleet of more than 30 helicopters and helipads at Essendon and Moorabbin airports, Air Melbourne says it can airlift travellers to most of Greater Melbourne’s major leisure and business destinations in a fraction of the time it takes to drive to them.
From its new base at South Wharf, Air Melbourne’s helicopters can travel to Phillip Island in as little as 25 minutes, Mount Dandenong in 14 minutes, Bendigo in 36 minutes and as far as Mt Hotham in one hour.
Air Melbourne has long transported guests to Victorian events including the Formula One GP at Albert Park, the Motorcycle GP at Phillip Island and the V8 Supercars round at Sandown.
Regular clients include the Department of Sustainability & Environment, Australian Maritime Safety Authority, Bureau of Meteorology, Parks Victoria, ESSO, BHP, Telstra, Visy, Linfox, various TV networks and a range of emergency services.
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