Barcelona Balloon Experience's Team

Top Equipment

Barcelona Balloon Experience is a Certified Air Operator

Equipment : internal and external continued control and maintenance

Mandatory Insurance for all our passengers

Barcelona Balloon Experience safety tips before and during the activity

 

Barcelona Balloon Experience's Team

Our pilots are all experienced professional pilots. Because…yes! To be authorized to pilot a hot-air balloon in a company, you have to get a special license granted by Civil Aviation authorities. We have been trained in a specialized hot-air balloon flight school and graduated as "pilot in command" and we have then cumulated thousands of hours of flight experience in hot air balloons in comercial flights, hot-air balloon competitions, mountains’ flight…lots of story to tell! We are qualified (and love it!) to operate commercial and private flights with passengers. To keep your license valid, a pilot has to complete a thorough medical check-up every year and a deep competence check realizing a flight supervised by a specialized hot-air balloon instructor every 2 years to control the way we master all the safety procedures and else. Be sure you're in safe hands with us.

But in a balloon team we are always 2: one up there piloting the balloon and…a “chasing team” following the balloon from the ground because we know where we are taking off but we don’t know where we are going to land at the beginning of the flight – the magic of ballooning- as…we are depending on the winds of the very day. We would have to come back walking if we wouldn’t have a good team on the ground. That’s why a good “chasing team” is so important. Our "chase crew team" has been trained to help the pilot during the hot-air balloon preparation process, to assist passengers at boarding our balloons and to follow by car the balloon during the ride. All teammates have been individually trained to manage any situation of emergency as well as first aid and fire training procedures, in order to offer you maximum professionalism and safety. Our team speaks English, Spanish, Catalan and French.

Top Equipment

Having excellent, experienced pilots and a professional ground crew is not enough to ensure that our ballooning activity takes place in perfect safety conditions. The equipment used is one of the keys to ensuring a safe balloon flight in Catalonia. That's why we invest heavily in our equipment.

Our hot-air balloons:

Our hot-air balloons, which are equipped with doors so you can get in without having to do a balancing act (!), are made by one of the world's most renowned hot-air Balloons’ manufacturers (Ultramagic Balloons, see link). In addition to complying with all the most demanding European standards, our balloons are all very recently made and maintained awith the utmost care (we're fanatics!). In addition to a complete check by the pilot before each flight, our hot-air balloons undergo the equivalent of a full technical inspection every year, where everything is checked: wear and tear of the envelope of the envelope (the balloon itself), ropes and pulleys, gas cylinders and connectors, burners (which produce the flame that heats the air inside the balloon), flawless, balloon’s basket, etc. With Barcelona Balloon Adventure, you can be sure of enjoying your balloon flight over Catalonia in the most reliable hot-air balloons in the world.

3 hot-air balloon photos

Our vehicles:

A former rally driver, Quicó, our Operations Manager, is particularly fond of cars. Add to that a certain tendency to be fussy and a brother who works in a garage, and you can be sure that you'll be riding in a vehicle that's in perfect working conditions at all times during your activity. Our 4x4s, which are used to tow the trailers and pick us up at the end of the flight, are extremely reliable and powerful Toyotas if we need to enter a field to retrieve the balloon at the end of the flight.

3 car photos

Our trailers:

All fitted with winches and electric arms to minimise the risk of injury and minimized our efforts (!), as well as with a double axle capable of carrying heavy loads, all our trailer are manufactured by a specialist (CanigóRemolcs - links) who has been designing trailers specifically for transporting hot-air balloons for over 20 years. And we can’t complain about it.

3 photos trailers

Barcelona Balloon Experience is a certified air operator

Of course we can tell you a fairy tale to reassure you, but in addition to everything we do internally to ensure your safety, we also have external factors to guarantee that our activity takes into account the highest safety standards in our sector. The Spanish Aviation Safety Agency called Agencia Estatal de Seguridad Aérea (AESA) delivered to Barcelona Balloon Experience the Air Operator Certification which allow us operate commercial and private hot air balloon rides and to realize aerial advertising given that we present minimum human, financial and technical guarantees to do so: they realize yearly inspection in our company to check that we are currently investing enough human and material means to ensure the safety of our operation.. This certification is public and can be checked on the AESA website. We are registered under the name of our Flight Operation Director FRANCESC VIDAL GASCH in that page.

Equipment : internal and external continued control and maintenance

Before each flight, the pilot “in command” checks completely his hot air balloon before the take-off. But being an aircraft, each balloon has to complete a very demanding maintenance program according to the manufacturer specification and the local aviation safety agency starting with, each year, a complete check-up of the envelope (the balloon in itself) with a resistance test, balloon’s basket, gas tanks and tubes, cables etc…

We are under maintenance contract Nº T042 with a Continuing Airworthiness Management Organisation named ULTRAMAGIC SA -which is also the maker of our balloons so they know perfectly our equipment- authorized by E.A.S.A. (European Aviation Safety Agency) for the maintenance of our balloon fleet and equipment.

photos logos aeasa ultramagic etc.

Mandatory Insurance for all our passengers

All passengers heading to Barcelona Balloon Experience are insured as obliged anyway by law (European law Nº785/2004 established minimum insurance requirements for every Air Operator in respect of liability for passengers).

We are under insurance contract nº BL01853941 with ATLANTAS for a Third Part Insurance for the passengers according to our obligations. Therefore, all passengers boarding Barcelona Balloon Experience balloons are legally insured.

Barcelona Balloon Experience safety tips before and during the activity

In order to live this amazing balloon adventure in safe and good conditions, we provide our passengers some useful tips to live the best possible experience. Read carefully the following safety information and….let’s go flying!

Before the balloon flight :

Can Anyone go on a hot-air balloon flight?

Yes, the good thing about hot-air ballooning is that it is the safest air activity when it is operated by a team of experienced professionals. From children aged 6 y.o. to adults over 85 y.o., everybody can board a hot air balloon. We just recommend pregnant women and people suffering bones weakness not to fly. No need to have a perfect physical condition but of course being in good health and not under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a good idea.

What to wear for your hot-air balloon flight:

We recommend wearing casual sporting clothes according to the flight season and appropriate shoes, having in mind that a balloon can land on muddy fields and the flight is made in the early morning. Heels are not the best choice! During the flight, the temperature does not get colder than on the ground.

Can we fly all year long?

Yes ! The good thing with Catalonia is that we have really good conditions all year long to fly our hot-air balloons. Winter too. Of course, there will be some days that we won’t have the weather conditions to fly but we are really advantaged here.

What happen if the weather is rainy?

Before every balloon flights, we always check the local weather report for wind and rain in order to know if we can operate a safe balloon ride. If we or the pilot consider the weather is unsuitable to operate the ballooning activity in safe conditions, we will instantly cancel the flight and offer the option to reschedule your activity. If you have no more mornings available during your stay in Barcelona, we will of course refund you full.

During the activity:

Will someone brief us about the activity?

Yes, before take-off, the pilot will explain all safety instruction about take off, flight and landing you need to know. Just pay attention to this instruction and feel free to ask any question you want.

What about the vertigo sensation with height?

The hot air balloon flies at a level between the trees height and a bit more than 3000 feet, according to the flying zone and the wind speed day of the flight. Also a good news : you won't experiment the awful sensation of vertigo as you have no link with the ground, it sounds incredible but it is true !

How does a ballon land?

Before landing, the pilot will re explain to all passengers the safety instruction, and overall the safety position for landing in order to enjoy it. According to wind speed, the landing can be "soft" or "bumpy" and always "laughy"...