On tour: the Happyday Nightliner

From the outside, the white double-decker coach doesn’t look so unusual: striking tinted windows thanks to internal foil application, LED lighting all round, but otherwise, a pretty typical NEOPLAN Skyliner. This changes abruptly when you step inside the coach at the Happyday Hanke Nightliner Service vehicle park. On the lower deck, four groups of four offer sociable seating for the journey accompanied by a spacious galley kitchen with Ceran ceramic hobs and fridge providing the on-board catering options.

A Teufel hi-fi stereo with subwoofer and a multimedia system with a range of monitors helps to create the optimum atmosphere around the entire coach. A shower has been integrated into the on-board bathroom facilities, which is fed from a 63-litre fresh water tank. On the upper deck, there are nine 200x90 cm bunk beds with reading lamps, curtains and sockets, which offer comfortable sleeping accommodation for 18 people. Two more people can make themselves comfy in the cosy rear lounge, which converts into a sofa bed in a few simple steps.

Since the MAN Bus Modification Center opted for a modular system to carry out the conversion and limited itself to the stops in the available rails, the whole of the interior fittings can be flexibly modified and removed if necessary – right up to converting the vehicle back into a standard vehicle.

The dual-zone rear air conditioning unit, which can be controlled independently on the lower and upper decks, convector heating and two step unit heaters ensure the climate is right when travelling. This job is taken over on-site by an auxiliary air-conditioning system with electric climate compressor in the luggage compartment, which can be operated using a 380 volt connection. Additionally, there are 380 litres of heating oil on board.

Happyday Hanke deploys the Skyliner for journeys such as music tours. Whether it’s being used by the Feuerschwanz, a medieval rock band, going to the world’s largest heavy metal festival in Wacken, Germany, or by DJ Bobo for a European tour – the list of references for the German coach operator from the little town of Marktredwitz speaks for itself. Just like the modified NEOPLAN Skyliner.