South West Balloon Flights Reviews 

What a fantastic experience!!

We have unfortunately had some delays in going initially due to Covid19 and then due to weather ( think we rearranged 3 times) however it is completely understandable and we were in regular communication which was really helpful and dates were quickly re-booked.

We went today and it was amazing!Clive and Andy were so knowledgeable and really put as at ease. It was fun unpacking and setting up the balloon too and I think we learnt alot.

We went up in the evening and it was such a calming experience it was so awesome with great weather and views. Andy and Clive worked well together and were really nice.

I would recommend going in a hot air balloon and booking with this company!

Thank you

Faye and Nai

I rescheduled my flight 6 times due to flight cancelations.
The flight ticket was transferred to me from my step father who got it as a gift. He had to reschedule his flight 5 times, he was then moving abroad so had no time left to try and make use of it which is why it was passed to me.
I found the service to be quite unhelpful and unfriendly when asking questions, the woman on the phone literally sighed at me loudly when I had asked a simple question about logging into the site. I had not been aggressive or difficult with her at all, there was no reason for that reaction.

Their online system isn't too bad, and it seems fairly clear when and how to rebook. Thorough information is provided.

It is just such a shame how many times you have to rebook and the rules around rebooking are very strict and unforgiving.

In the end I was exhausted with the process and I chose to let it lapse... After a long hard thought about letting the money go...

..but there's no way to get it back and have a refund.
It sucks but that's it and you can't do anything about it.

Awful, unyielding customer service. With no regard for customer satisfaction or for basic kindness. I prime example of when corporate values and greed overtake the values on which this business was probably formed.
I purchased 2 weekend flight vouchers from south west ballon flights for a very expensive £210, you would have thought that at this hefty price along with it would come with a level of customer service, sadly this was not the case. Our voucher was purchased in February, which you would assume given that it was a year long voucher would give you 12 months of opportunities to fly. However this is not the case as they only fly for 6 months of the year.
Unfortunately this year was not an easy one for my partner and I and we were unable to book our flight in the first half of the year. We did book once but the flight was cancelled due to windy weather. After that point the weather took a turn for the worst, and we did not book as we could see that it was going to be rainy.
At the beginning of October this year I called south west balloons as I could no longer see any dates to book flights, I was informed that although the flying season is stated to last until the end of october, at Henstridge airfield, the last flight was instead the first week of october, and we were therefore out of time. I was therefore informed that we would have to pay an extra £70 on top of the £210 for the privilege of using a product that we had already paid for.
When calling back to see if there was any leeway available, however I was met by an unyielding 'customer services representative' who refused to budge and instead hid behind the terms and conditions and refused to see the human side of the interaction, and instead suggested that I divulge personal details about the difficulties of my life this year in order to gain any kind of leeway, which I was uncomfortable doing.
South west balloons also hide behind they're automated email service informing customers of upcoming balloon flights around 3 days in advance, however these were mostly for weekday dates which we are unable to make due to being a normal working person, or for dates that we could not make. During the call they also claimed to have incurred costs by calling us to organise dates, no such calls were ever received.

Choose wisely and certainly not with this outfit!

I bought a weekday morning flight voucher for my fiancée in August last year, which was valid until May. A flight was booked for the end of September to coincide with our holiday but this was cancelled due to weather - still not sure why as there was no wind, not enough people booked would seem a more believable reason!

Despite looking for alternative options these were few and far between in Cornwall until the company stopped operating in October.

Unfortunately I assumed that in 2019 customer service would be at the centre of any business; how wrong I was. Where a voucher is valid for 9 months, 6 of which it can't be used because the provider chooses not to operate, the expectation is that the 9 months would stop at the point the season ended and restart in April. But not with this lot, that six months is clearly seen as an opportunity to make some extra cash!

And when challenged, the person on the phone just hides behind the 'its in our terms and conditions' excuse and then reverts to the rude, unhelpful approach described in other reviews. Possibly a career change might be an idea, something not involving the general public!

I have previously booked balloon flights for others and those operators were professional, friendly and customer focussed: South West Balloon Flights seem to take the opposite approach and make every effort to ensure vouchers expire to either pocket the cash without providing anything or charging again for the same thing.

My advice, research what is on offer and choose wisely, and definitely not with South West Balloon Flights and the extremely rude and unhelpful staff member left to con more money out of their unsuspecting customers!

Amazing experience!!
The whole experience was incredible. The staff were friendly and professional. We enjoyed the most beautiful flight over East Cornwall on a beautiful evening. I would definitely recommend it!

Had the most amazing experience flying with this company. Would highly recommend everything was so easy from booking through to the actual experience itself the pilots and crew were lovely. We so enjoyed our flight and we can’t wait to go again

My husband and I were given a weekday morning flight voucher for our wedding at the end of August last year, which was valid until mid- April. Due to our jobs at schools and my mother being taken into hospital we were unable to use our voucher in September and October. As soon as the April flight dates were released online we saw that the first flight wasn't until the 19th April (a few days after our voucher expired) and so I immediately called to ask to extend our voucher, explaining the difficult circumstances that led us to not be able to use our voucher previously.

The person we spoke to on the phone was dismissive and rude, telling me that I should have called as soon as we received the voucher at the end of August to organise an extension (even though my mother was incredibly unwell at this point). I found this very upsetting although I managed to hold it together on the phone. We were eventually given the option to fly on the 19th April (the first day flights resumed).

Unfortunately, our flight on the 19th April was cancelled and so we have now been told that we must pay £70 to extend. I understand that companies cannot have an endless time limit for vouchers like this, but I do think that a 9-month limit when you are closed for 6 months of the year makes it very difficult to book in flights, particularly given the weather in England. The day our flight was cancelled was the glorious Easter bank holiday weekend - bright sunshine and 7mph wind. We were told it was too windy to fly, which of course we respect as we would want to be safe on our flight, but it did make me wonder how many days these flights actually operate given that the weather on our flight day was pretty much as good and wind-free as days get in Devon.

I have since questioned the business model this company uses, as it makes it very difficult to actually book flights. Unless you are fortunate enough to be given a voucher in April, which would allow you 6-months out of the 9-months 'available' on the voucher, you are likely to have a very short time period to book. I cannot understand why a company like this wouldn't offer a full 12 month period for each voucher, given that they are closed for 6 months of the year. I'm not one to usually write a bad review, but I feel it is important to warn others who may be considering this as a gift for others and to share a little of my experience with this company. I appreciate that this is a business and they need to make money, but a little compassion and understanding goes a long way - we were a newly married couple and my mother had been taken into hospital. Being told off for not calling sooner was not exactly what you would call good customer service.

This company is a con! They try to charge you £70 to extend the voucher when there have been limited opportunities to fly. We even booked once and it was cancelled for the weather but still no free extension. DO NOT BOOK WITH THEM IF YOU WANT VALUE FOR MONEY AND TO ACTUALLY GET TO FLY IN A BALLOON.

This company is a con, didn't even get to fly. They don't deliver on what they promise. The weather has been terrible, so the flights were constantly cancelled, which is fair enough, but once 9 months are up (after the initial ticket purchase) they couldn't care less.

Absolutely amazing experience from start to finish! Enjoyed helping inflate the balloon ready for launch and the flight was better than I expected - stunning views and the pilot pointed out all the local landmarks. Ground crew were also very polite and explained everything clearly. I have told all my friends about it and I can't wait to fly again soon!