Flying Fox
| LOA | 136 m |
|---|---|
| Builder | Lurssen |
| Delivered | 2019 |
| Gross tonnage | about 9,022 |
| Exterior design | Espen Oeino |
| Interior design | Mark Berryman |
| Guests / Crew | 25 / about 54 |
| Signature | two-storey wellness spa |
The largest charter yacht in the world
Delivered in 2019, Flying Fox arrived as the largest yacht ever offered anywhere for private charter. At 136 metres and more than 9,000 GT, she brought full giga-yacht scale to the charter market for the very first time at this level. Lurssen built her throughout to the exacting standard of any private flagship. She quickly became one of the most sought-after charter yachts anywhere in the world. She effectively opened the very top of the charter market to true giga-yacht living.
The programme showed Lurssen's rare ability to deliver a vessel that serves changing guests to the highest standard. Every single space was designed to impress an entirely new party each season. Flying Fox set a genuinely new ceiling for what a charter guest could reasonably expect. She remains the clear reference point right at the top of the market. Demand for her has remained consistently strong since the very day she launched.
Espen Oeino's flowing grey profile
Espen Oeino gave Flying Fox a sleek and curving silhouette finished in a distinctive dove-grey hull. The lines run long and low, wrapping some 7,000 square metres of exterior space around a graceful superstructure. Two full helipads sit ready for the largest helicopters currently in service. The overall profile is completely unmistakable in any anchorage she visits. The grey hull gives her a look that is calm and highly distinctive at once.
A genuine standout exterior feature is the 12-metre pool set across the main deck aft, a first at this scale. Oeino shaped the terraces and lounging areas to make the very most of the yacht's vast footprint. Guests move easily between sun, shade and the sea across her many decks. The design cleverly turns sheer size into usable and genuinely inviting space. The transverse pool has since gone on to inspire designers right across the industry.
The largest yacht offered for private charter, built around a two-storey spa.
A two-storey spa at the centre
The interior by Mark Berryman is anchored by a wellness offering quite unlike anything else afloat. A two-storey spa runs to some of the largest dimensions ever built into a yacht, complete with sauna, hammam and treatment rooms. It gives Flying Fox the settled feel of a floating resort devoted entirely to wellbeing. Very few yachts anywhere can rival the space she gives to health and relaxation. Guests can comfortably spend whole days within the wellness spaces alone.
Beyond the remarkable spa, she accommodates 25 guests across a series of generous cabins. A crew of more than 50 stands in support, alongside a beach club, a dive centre, a cinema and a library. Berryman kept the interiors bright, warm and welcoming throughout the yacht. The whole layout was carefully built for guests to feel instantly at home aboard. The sheer variety of spaces easily suits parties with very different tastes.
Engineered for the charter life
Flying Fox is powered by twin MTU diesel engines driving a large and stable displacement hull. She cruises efficiently with a top speed of around 20 knots and a range of some 6,000 nautical miles. That reach lets her follow the seasons freely across the world's finest cruising grounds. The propulsion package was chosen above all for smooth and reliable service. Her range keeps her moving steadily with the seasons right across the globe.
Her systems were built to operate intensively, season after season, with rotating guests always aboard. Careful stabilisation keeps her steady and comfortable for the widest possible range of guests. Deep redundancy and robust engineering suit a yacht that must always be ready to sail. Flying Fox was made from the outset to perform without pause or excuse. She was engineered squarely to face a demanding schedule year after year.
For the owner and the charter guest alike
Flying Fox suits an owner who wants a giga-yacht that also earns its keep at the very top of the charter market. Her wellness focus and resort-scale amenities appeal strongly to guests seeking both health and space. She is ideal for large groups and for owners who genuinely value flexibility. The yacht bridges private ownership and elite charter with real ease. She rewards owners who value both prestige and hard practicality together.
For a charter guest, she offers an experience that few other yachts can match, led by that extraordinary spa. For an owner, she combines real prestige with genuine, proven commercial appeal. Flying Fox remains the largest and most complete charter yacht anywhere afloat. Her position right at the summit of the market has been thoroughly well earned. Her reputation among charter guests is quite simply second to none.
What the people who run her actually say
Boat International's own visit produced some of the only named, on-the-record accounts of life aboard rather than marketing copy. The captain described placing families with children in one suite and parents in the other, sharing one large balcony between them, and said the arrangement "works really well". He also said opening the galley to guests changed the whole rhythm of a charter, making the chef, in his words, "the star on board" instead of a hidden department.
The onboard dive instructor told the same visit that guests need no prior experience to use the programme, describing a path that runs from a first go in the aft swimming pool through to technical rebreather diving for those who want it. The spa team runs treatments with the rain shower running so guests lie on what one therapist called a warm water bed inside a full shower, one part of a two-storey spa that also holds the first cryosauna fitted to any yacht, cooling to as low as minus 110 degrees Celsius. Reaching that level of service takes the 55-strong crew this yacht carries, a ratio the smaller charter fleet cannot match.
Engines and systems
| Propulsion | Two MTU 16V1163 M84 diesels, 4,481 kW (6,009 hp) each, driving two propellers |
|---|---|
| Speed | Cruises at 15 knots, 20 knots maximum |
| Range and fuel | Up to 6,500 nautical miles at cruise speed from 682,500 litres of fuel |
| Helipads | Two - an 18 metre D-value pad on the sundeck and a 14 metre D-value pad on the bridge deck |
| Spa systems | Two-storey, 400+ square metre spa with a pool that switches between hot and cold in about ten minutes, and a cryosauna running to -110C |
What owners and crew report
Crew who actually run charters describe a boat built around entertaining, not just cruising
Flying Fox's captain told Boat International the ten equal-sized suites let "families with the children in one suite and the parents in another" share one large balcony, and said opening the galley to guests "completely changed the dynamics of the boat" and made the chef "the star on board". The onboard dive instructor said the crew can take a total beginner "all the way through to technical rebreather diving" starting in the aft-deck pool.
Boat International
What is good, and what to watch
Strong points
- The largest yacht genuinely available to charter, not just the largest builtUnlike several bigger Lurssen flagships that are privately held and rarely if ever chartered, Flying Fox actually takes paying guests, which is why she is consistently described as the largest charter yacht on the market rather than simply the largest yacht.
- A two-storey spa built to hotel, not yacht, standardBoat International measured the spa at over 400 square metres with a pool that can switch between hot and cold in about ten minutes, plus the first cryosauna fitted to any yacht, running chambers down to -110C.
- Crew numbers that support genuinely bespoke service55 crew for a maximum of 25 to 36 guests depending on configuration, a ratio that lets the crew run activities like structured dive training and in-suite spa treatments rather than fixed set-piece service.
What to watch
- The headline charter rate is not the real cost of a week aboardIndustry-standard Advance Provisioning Allowance (typically 20 to 40 percent of the base rate) plus separate VAT and local taxes apply on top of the quoted EUR3 million to EUR4.27 million weekly rate; Flying Fox's own contract terms are not published, so the all-in cost of a charter is not a number a guest can look up in advance.
- A cruising range that trades off against her top speedFlying Fox cruises at 15 knots and tops out at 20 knots, with her quoted 6,500 nautical mile range only achieved at cruise speed, not at the higher speeds a shorter itinerary might call for.
- A crew of 55 means running costs scale with the boat, not the charterEven when not chartered, a vessel this size carries a large standing crew and hotel-scale systems (twin MTU 16V1163 diesels, two helipads, a two-storey spa) that cost money to maintain regardless of guest numbers.
Practical detail
| Charter rate | From about EUR3 million a week; some brokers quote up to EUR4.27 million depending on season and configuration |
|---|---|
| What is added on top | Advance Provisioning Allowance (industry-standard 20-40% of the base rate) plus VAT/local taxes - not included in the headline rate |
| Guests and crew | Up to 25-36 guests in 10 suites, served by 55 crew |
| Toys and tenders | 5 tenders, a full dive programme up to technical rebreather level and a submarine-capable tender garage |
| What is not published | Flying Fox's own APA percentage and exact seasonal rate card are not public; brokers quote a range rather than a fixed published tariff |
Questions owners ask
How big is the Lurssen Flying Fox?
LOA: 136 m. Builder: Lurssen.
Who is the Lurssen Flying Fox for?
For the owner who wants a giga-yacht with a resort-scale spa that also commands the top of the charter market.
What is the Lurssen Flying Fox good at?
The largest yacht genuinely available to charter, not just the largest built. Unlike several bigger Lurssen flagships that are privately held and rarely if ever chartered, Flying Fox actually takes paying guests, which is why she is consistently described as the largest charter yacht on the market rather than simply the largest yacht.
What are the drawbacks of the Lurssen Flying Fox?
The headline charter rate is not the real cost of a week aboard. Industry-standard Advance Provisioning Allowance (typically 20 to 40 percent of the base rate) plus separate VAT and local taxes apply on top of the quoted EUR3 million to EUR4.27 million weekly rate; Flying Fox's own contract terms are not published, so the all-in cost of a charter is not a number a guest can look up in advance.
What do owners and crew report about the Lurssen Flying Fox?
Flying Fox's captain told Boat International the ten equal-sized suites let "families with the children in one suite and the parents in another" share one large balcony, and said opening the galley to guests "completely changed the dynamics of the boat" and made the chef "the star on board". The onboard dive instructor said the crew can take a total beginner "all the way through to technical rebreather diving" starting in the aft-deck pool. (Boat International)
Who it is for: For the owner who wants a giga-yacht with a resort-scale spa that also commands the top of the charter market.