Private Balloon Flights

Flew with this group last summer. Enjoyed the scenery, enjoyed the sites with the balloon ride. We didn't go very high in the balloon. Compared to the other balloons in the sky with us that morning, this seemed unusual. The pilot said he didn't want to cross the river, which made me question his abilities. We had a very scary landing in a residential area and the balloon touched a wire and a large spark blew and burnt a hole in the balloon. For safety, we had to stay in the balloon until the chase team rescued us from the wire. A scary 8 minutes. I would use another company.

This seemed like the best choice due to the price. It was less than the other companies and since it was during Balloon Fiesta, we thought we'd give ourselves the experience. We were told to meet at a certain place and time. Fine. I assumed it was an office. Well, on a dark, cold, 6:00 a.m. Monday morning of Oct. 9th, we arrived at their "office." It was the parking lot of a strip mall. A table had been set up and a couple of women were signing a line of people in. We assumed it would just be the two of us, as their ad had emphasized the "private" ride. Once we saw that it was anything but private, my husband wanted to cancel, but we were told that we would still be charged. After getting checked in, we were told to talk to a lady standing near by. She handed us a sheet of instructions. One of these was to help roll up the balloon. We also were informed that there were going to be two balloon flights because of the number of people going. We would follow the first balloon riding group in a van with some fellow riders, along with the chase crew. When the balloon landed, we would have to blow it up a little bit, I think, and then get in for our turn. At the end, we would be put to work nipping and tucking the balloon and oh, yes, paying an additional amount to tip the crew and pilot - minimum of $50. The ride per person was $250. Of course, the tip was optional, but they guilted us into it by saying the crew worked for tips. By now, we reluctantly drove to a nearby park to wait for dawn and the go ahead to blow up the balloon and so on. After awhile, the lady who had given us the instructions told us the flight had been cancelled because the wind would blow us into the fiesta balloons. Well, we just thanked our lucky balloons because we lost all enthusiasm for it. We believed that we were going to be the only two in the balloon, that we would just get it, go on the ride, come down and be finished by about 10 p.m. We were not informed or prepared for any of the above. I cannot recommend this company due to the fact that they failed to fully disclose the details to us. We had never been on a balloon ride before, so we expected all to be fully revealed and explained to us.

Absolutely the hi-light of a 90-day trip around the Country! Thanks to our pilot (Frank) for the mini geography/history lesson on the area and for a life event experience. Will recommend without question this Company, they take time to explain everything to you beforehand and have a closing ceremony.

The pilot was awsom and the flight was great. The lady that owns the company is very rude and sarcastic. She did not follow her own protocol. Paper work states another vehicle would be called in the event of an unforseen delay. Did not follow the agreement. Had to wait on a second balloon to be loaded before we could be driven back. Totally inconvenience. We would use a different company next time.

This was an amazing ride! We loved every minute! The crew was outstanding and the pile was fantastic!