More people are set to experience champagne balloon flights across the UK this year as we have added four massive new hot air balloons to our fleet.
The red balloons, which stand 120ft tall when inflated, will be taking people on balloon rides from some of our 100+ launch sites across the country as the new season has begun this month.
The balloons will carry baskets of up to 16 passengers and will replace smaller balloons that are being retired. This will further increase the capacity of the fleet, which flew over 30,000 people in 2009.
Cameron Balloons have supplied the balloons, which are all 400s (they hold 400,000 cubic feet of air) and are registered as G-VBFV ‘Victor,’ G-VBFL ‘Lima,’ G - VBFX ‘Xray’ and G – VBFY ‘Yankee.’ Three of the balloons will be flying in Essex, Somerset and Bedfordshire, respectively.
Kenneth Karlstrom, director and chief pilot, said: “As the UK’s leading balloon rides company, we are fully committed to ensuring the safety and comfort of our passengers. Despite the difficult trading conditions in recent times, this is the fifth year in a row that we have made significant investments in our balloon network. We are confident that we have the most modern fleet anywhere in the world. We’re hoping to have a fantastic summer this year and to fly more people than ever before.”
In 2009, we gave two retired balloon envelopes to Worn Again, the sustainable products and services company that created a range of bags and jackets called Bon Voyage! A percentage of profits from sales go to the sustainable lifestyles charity Anti-Apathy.
Visit our main Virgin Balloon Flights Website for our latest offers.