We were really looking forward to this experience, but unfortunately found the booking process very frustrating.Our original flight was cancelled due to weather, which we fully understand. However, rebooking has been extremely difficult. Dates are released on a rolling basis, while vouchers have fixed expiry dates.This combination makes it hard to plan ahead and, in practice, limits your ability to book dates that actually work. We ended up paying for extensions, only to find that suitable dates still weren’t available.When we contacted customer services, availability technically existed, but only for a very limited number of dates that didn’t work for us. Requests for a further extension or refund were declined.Overall, the experience feels like the service is technically available, but not always realistically accessible — which is disappointing given the cost and anticipation involved.Edit following company response: the ‘goodwill extension’ referred to to allow me to book for May was not worth the paper it was written on: when I called last week to book for May I was told May dates are still unavailable as there are still too many April slots yet to be filled, so I will have to pay to extend to secure a May date. When I pointed out that this renders the original goodwill gesture null and void, I was told that just because I was told May dates ‘should’ be available by now is not the same as ‘would’ be available. This company are misrepresenting their booking model as being reasonable and enactable when it is not, and they have been borderline abusive in their handling of my complaint. I would avoid using them at all cost.
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Virgin Balloon Flights is the largest commercial hot air balloon rides company in the UK and has been taking passengers up, up and away on the airborne experience of a lifetime since 1994.
