<p>I once asked my almost 80 year old mother if there was anything that she had always wanted to do and hadn’t. Tops on her list was a hot air balloon ride, so as a Christmas gift last year, I purchased one for her, my husband and I. In order to take this ride, she has to drive to our house for the weekend from 3 hours away. The company calls at 5:00 am to let us know if the weather is right for the ride. Well, tomorrow is our 4th try and it’s getting very frustrating. Three other times the ride has been cancelled during seemingly ideal weather. I realize that winds can be different higher up, but I can’t imagine that weather will ever be better for flying than the last 3 tries. Some wind is predicted for this weekend, so I am not hopeful. Each cancelled trip involves a long drive for my mother and quickly changed plans for the entire weekend. Each time the trip is cancelled, there is not another weekend opening for 2 months.</p>
<p>Anybody else had better luck? The tickets are nonrefundable and my mother wants to keep trying, but I don’t know how much longer I am comfortable with her making the drive.</p>
<p>That is quite a long, tiring drive, especially repeatedly, for a woman her age. Is there any other way she could get to your home for the weekend?
I can’t imagine how this company stays in business if they are repeatedly cancelling flights.
H and I took a hot air balloon flight many years ago in Arizona. We were part of a convention group and signed up for the flight before we even got to Arizona, so the tickets for quite a few people were purchased and reserved at least a couple of weeks ahead. It really was a great experience, so I hope it works out soon for you.
Do you know anyone who has flown with this company? Did they have similar problems? Is there another local company you could get some information from – their policy for postponed trips, how often do they have to cancel, is there a better month you could try weather-wise?
This must be terribly frustrating. You are going through a lot to try to make it work. Good luck, I hope you get to fly soon.</p>
<p>No other way to get here. The cancellations are all due to just barely unacceptable winds. At ground level, we have been perfectly still and I have to take their word for it that the winds are too high further up. I have checked them out with BBB and we have tried May, August, October, and now December. It is very frustrating. We have been experiencing a very bad drought all year, so the weather has been good for ballooning. The upside is that we get a weekend together, but it starts out badly. I would try to get my money back, but my mother would like to keep trying. I think I might have one more try in me.</p>
<p>Good luck, preironic. I hope your next try works. If not, and you just can’t see continuing, is there anything else your mother would like to do?
I remember doing something similar for my mom. She was quite frail due to osteoporosis, arthritic hips and a very weak heart, so after my father passed she did not get out much.
Once when we were coming for a visit from out of state with our young children she asked us to take her to the Oregon Coast to see Keiko, the orca that was at the Oregon Aquarium for a while. By that time she had to get around in a wheelchair, but we had a nice day and it was her last real outing. I’m glad we were able to do that for her.</p>
<p>I’ve been in hot-air balloons a few times when going to balloon rallies with friends. One of the rallies, WHAMOBASS, is held in mid-May, and the other, the Apricot Festival/Balloon Rally, is in late May. Each time we went, the balloons made it up but on most days flying had to be over by 9 or so because of wind.</p>
<p>Those May rallies are in central and northern California, and I think you’ll need to look at the balloon activities in your area to find the most reliable dates. Here’s a random list I found of balloon rallies around the country: [Hot</a> Air Balloon Festivals Rallies and Events around the World](<a href=“http://www.hotairballoon.com/showall.taf]Hot”>Hot Air Balloon Festivals Rallies and Events around the World). You could see when the Texas ones are and schedule your next try around then.</p>
<p>Thanks for the links to the rallies. Seems like we have tried most of those times. We would be going up before dawn and down by around 8:30 or so. </p>
<p>I have done several things with my mother and would love to substitute for this if possible. The problem is that when I ask her if she wants to keep trying, the answer is yes, yes, yes. I think, though, that this has to be the last try. </p>
<p>Part of the problem is that the pilots might be much more cautious with random passengers than they would be by themselves in a balloon. I just wish they had warned me exactly how hard it would be to find suitible weather.</p>
<p>If you decide to skip the balloon, another fun flight would be in a glider. They usually have intro sessions in a two passenger glider where she’d be sitting in front with the pilot behind her. They’ll even let her take the stick for a bit.</p>
<p>How frustrating! My husband and I went on a hot air balloon ride last year to celebrate my 50th birthday. It was wonderful and something I’ll never forget. If I were you I would call the company and explain how much trouble your mother is going through just to get to their location. Perhaps they’re being over-cautious. I take it that there is not a place where she lives so she has to leave from your town?</p>
<p>Well our fourth try was canceled this morning. I asked the guy to refund our money minus a fee, but he is not willing to. We can’t just pick and choose times, because each time we are canceled, we go to the back of a 2 month wait list. Evening flights are even more expensive. The fun has gone out of this endeavor and I just want to do something else instead. This was an expensive lesson.</p>
<p>I’ve flown twice. Both were early evening flights. Never had a problem with cancellations, but balloon season here in San Diego tends to be more in the summer rather than the winter.</p>
Are you sure this guy isn’t just scamming you? I don’t understand the 2 months between shots at a flight either. It seems as if he’s just stringing you along. If it was a legit business he should refund your money in its entirety since he hasn’t actually provided any services to you. I think you should strongly pursue getting a refund from him and take him to court if he refuses. You should also report your dissatisfaction to the BBB.</p>
<p>I’ve been wondering the same thing. He has no complaints with the BBB for the last 36 months. I wonder if he is overbooking. He does offer refundable tickets for an extra fee, but I did the booking over the phone and wasn’t told this (although I’m not sure I would have paid it since I didn’t know flying would be so difficult). That option is supposedly only offered at initial payment, but I don’t understand why he wouldn’t let me pay the fee now and get out. I will be going to the BBB if he doesn’t end up working with me. I could understand trying more if we had had bad weather with any of our bookings, but 3 of them seemed ideal, at least on the ground, and one just a little iffy. The 2 months between shots is because we have to fly on weekends and he is booked up that far in advance.</p>
<p>I also always wanted to take a hot-air balloon flight, ever since seeing Around the World in 80 Days as a child. My H and I finally did it with some dear friends about 13 years ago. Our flight had a CRASH landing because we came down too fast. I fell in the basket and hurt my back and it has never been the same. I still have back pain because of this. The flight was wonderful, but I would never do it again. And I sure wouldn’t take my 80-year-old mother.</p>