Virgin Balloon Flights Reviews

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4.6

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Review summary

Created with AI, based on recent reviews

Evaluating 564 reviews, reviewers overwhelmingly had a great experience with this company. Customers frequently praise the friendly staff and expert pilots who explain everything clearly and consistently make everyone feel safe and involved during the flight. Passengers truly enjoy participating in preparing and packing up the balloon, often describing the journey as entirely peaceful and relaxing with breathtaking views. Some reviewers were not happy with the booking process, noting that securing a date can take a long time and require multiple attempts. A few individuals also mentioned unexpected last-minute changes and difficulties when trying to organize and schedule their flights during certain seasons.

What people talk about most

Staff

Customers consistently note positive experiences with staff, highlighting that pilots and ground crews are... See more

User experience

Reviewers mention positive feedback about user_experience, describing the overall activity as truly magical... See more

Service

Customers had positive experiences with service, describing a slick and well-managed operation from start to... See more

Booking process

Consumers find booking_process to be ambiguous, with highly mixed experiences reported by reviewers. Many... See more

Customer service

Clients share positive opinions on customer service, highlighting helpful and reassuring support during... See more

Reviews shaping this summary

Worth getting up at 4.15 for. Flying from Welford Christmas Tree farm at 6.30 AM, on a sunny Sunday morning. The team were great. Friendly and helpful, giving us a pre-flight safety talk, and p... See more

Company replied

Had a virgin balloon ride on Friday 7/8/26 with my best friends as a belated birthday present. Took off in Northamptonshire. The pilot was very informative and friendly. We had a perfect landin... See more

Company replied

The weather was perfect. Blue sky not a cloud in sight , and absolutely no wind ! It was truly magical , we floated upwards effortlessly and drifted majestically through the Sussex / Kent countrysi... See more

Company replied

Great experience. Pilot very friendly and informative, didn't go above 500 feet, so had a fantastic view. Downside. Would be better if the directions to the field were more accurate as the given p... See more

Company replied

Company details

Written by the company

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.

Contact info

Jesson House, TF3 3BD, Telford, Shropshire, United Kingdom
01952 212750
customerservice@virginballoonflights.co.uk
www.virginballoonflights.co.uk

4.6

Excellent

6K reviews

5-star

4-star

3-star

2-star

1-star

Asks customers to review

This company invites their customers to review, whether positive or negative

Replied to 98% of negative reviews

Typically replies within 1 week

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4.6

Not enough stars! What an incredible experience flying with the Virgin crew at the Bristol Balloon Festival. They looked after everything, the booking, safety briefings, the ground care and of course the pilot. Can’t wait to go again…!

8 August 2026

Reply from Virgin Balloon Flights

4 days ago

Hi,

Not enough stars?! Careful, you'll have us asking Trustpilot for a sixth one!

What a place to fly too. We're delighted the whole team looked after you from booking right through to landing at the Bristol Balloon Fiesta. And we particularly like that you're already plotting the next one...

Thanks,
The Virgin Balloon Flights Team

6 days ago

10/10 experience

10/10 experience! Amazing flight, super competent, and friendly crew. Everything went smoothly and safely. Thank you for a magnificent time!

8 August 2026

Reply from Virgin Balloon Flights

4 days ago

Hi,

10/10... we'll take that score! Safe, smooth and with a cracking crew along for the ride sounds like a pretty successful day in the skies to us.

Thanks,
The Virgin Balloon Flights Team

6 days ago

Amazing experience today with my 13 year old son. The flying team were first class and everything about the experience was five star. I can not recommend this enough: it’s just amazing.

8 August 2026

Reply from Virgin Balloon Flights

4 days ago

Hi,

Now that's a pretty epic day out for a 13-year-old... and not a bad one for the grown-up either! We're delighted you both had such a brilliant time and that the flying team delivered the full five-star treatment.

Thanks,
The Virgin Balloon Flights Team

6 days ago

The flight was excellent

The flight was excellent. Peter, our pilot was great, as were the ground crew Stephen and Luke. The flight went really well, Peter showed us where we were and pointed out local landmarks. Everybody seemed to enjoy it, even the setting up and putting away of the balloon itself. Thoroughly enjoyable i would do it again anytime.

8 August 2026

Reply from Virgin Balloon Flights

4 days ago

Hi,

Peter, Stephen and Luke clearly make quite the team! From pointing out the landmarks above to getting everyone stuck in back on the ground, it sounds like they gave you the full ballooning experience. And if you'd do it again anytime, we'll take that as a job well done!

Thanks,
The Virgin Balloon Flights Team

6 days ago

The pilot was very courteous and…

The pilot was very courteous and informative

8 August 2026

Reply from Virgin Balloon Flights

4 days ago

Hi,

Sounds like our pilot struck just the right balance! We'll make sure your kind words are passed along. Thanks for flying with us.

Thanks,
The Virgin Balloon Flights Team

6 days ago

Bristol Balloon Fiesta 2026

Helpful all over the experience. From the meet and greet to the landing and packing away. Mike was a great pilot who made all of us feel at ease

8 August 2026

Reply from Virgin Balloon Flights

4 days ago

Hi,

Taking to the skies at the Bristol Balloon Fiesta is quite an adventure, and it sounds like Mike was exactly the person you wanted at the helm! We'll make sure he knows just how much his calm and friendly approach was appreciated.

Thanks,
The Virgin Balloon Flights Team

6 days ago

we had to wait a very long time for our…

we had to wait a very long time for our flight but l have to say it was well worth the wait it was very well organised and the ground crew and pilot were very professional and a pleasure to be with , a great experience and a great memory to have .

7 August 2026

Reply from Virgin Balloon Flights

4 days ago

Hi,

Our balloons might get most of the attention, but it's the people in and around the basket who really make the day! We're delighted the pilot and crew looked after you so well and gave you an experience you'll look back on fondly.

Thanks,
The Virgin Balloon Flights Team

6 days ago

Fantastic experience.

Adrian, Ian and Lucy were incredible! Talked us through the whole experience.
The balloon ride itself was faultless :)

Booking process is really easy and extend your dates if they cant go ahead with the booked dates.
Well worth the wait :)

8 August 2026

Reply from Virgin Balloon Flights

4 days ago

Hi,

Adrian, Ian and Lucy... sounds like you've got yourselves a fan club! We'll make sure all three see your fantastic comments. A faultless flight and a crew who kept you in the know throughout – we'll happily take that!

Thanks,
The Virgin Balloon Flights Team

6 days ago

Virgin Balloon Flight from Rutland Water.

The Virgin balloon flight from Rutland Water with Matt Rate was awesome! Ably supported by Andy and Martin, the stunning views over Rutland Water, soon after dawn, were beautiful. The calm and quite enabled listening to the birds below, punctuated with the occasional noise of the burn for more hot air. I was amazed by the control that Matt had of the balloon with a very smooth takeoff and landing. The only hiccup was a lack of time for the briefing in the original recorded message. Matt corrected that by contacting the guests but, unfortunately, I had missed the final digit from my phone number so I arrived late, but in time for the flight. Thanks for a great flight Matt and team!

4 August 2026

Reply from Virgin Balloon Flights

4 days ago

Hi,

Hearing the birds below while floating over Rutland Water at dawn... that's a pretty special way to start the day! We're glad everything came together despite the little hiccup beforehand, and we'll make sure Matt, Andy and Martin see your fantastic comments.

Thanks,
The Virgin Balloon Flights Team

6 days ago

Fun experience but would have loved a longer flight.

Hot air balloon flying is a great experience. The weather was beautiful and visibility amazing. The whole team were very friendly and approachable. The pilot was lovely and informative. Up in the air it was calm and serene.
True flight time was only 30 minutes, whole experience took roughly 4 hours as you need to help a lot with setting and putting away the balloon.
Booking this takes some serious perseverance, we re looking at years for most people.

8 August 2026

Reply from Virgin Balloon Flights

4 days ago

Hi,

There's nothing quite like that calm and quiet once you're in the air, so we're really pleased you enjoyed the flight and were looked after so well by the pilot and crew.

We appreciate your comments about the flight duration and the overall time involved too. Ballooning is an adventure with plenty happening on the ground as well as in the sky, but we understand that the time airborne is the part everyone looks forward to most.

Thanks for sticking with it and for sharing such balanced feedback.

Thanks,
The Virgin Balloon Flights Team

6 days ago

Great location at Rutland Water

Great location at Rutland Water. Matt and the crew looked after us extremely well. Would recommend for all ages. Great shared experience.

7 August 2026

Reply from Virgin Balloon Flights

4 days ago

Hi,

That's one of our favourite things about ballooning – seeing different generations sharing the same adventure together. Throw in Rutland Water as the backdrop and Matt and the crew looking after you, and it sounds like a pretty good day in the skies!

Thanks,
The Virgin Balloon Flights Team

7 days ago

It was really great

It was really great! My twins had a great time. All very well managed and smiles all round.

7 August 2026

Reply from Virgin Balloon Flights

4 days ago

Hi,

Two happy twins and smiles all round... we'd call that a successful flight! We're so pleased you all had such a great time with us.

Thanks,
The Virgin Balloon Flights Team

7 days ago

What an amazing experience.

What an amazing experience.
Our pilot Russell Collins was very knowledgeable about the area, pointing out all of the landmarks. We took off from Evesham on the 6am flight 07/08/26. The only thing we were a bit scared about was the landing, but we had nothing to worry about because it was really smooth. To see the sunrise whilst up in the sky was something else. Very peaceful ,felt like you were floating in the air.
Helping set up the balloon and putting it away was really quite fun, the glass of Prosecco with orange juice after it was all packed away was much appreciated. Would highly recommended this experience, one for the bucket list. Just talking to friends about booking another flight. We booked the flight last year, but it was cancelled a few times, also cancelled a few times this year due to the winds, we were booking evening flight, this was the first flight we booked for a morning and I’m really glad we did go on the morning, it was well worth the wait. You are told in plenty of time when flights are cancelled, and really easy to rebook. Thank you Virgin for a wonderful, unforgettable experience and thank you to Russell our pilot for a wonderful flight.

7 August 2026

Reply from Virgin Balloon Flights

4 days ago

Hi,

All that worry about the landing... and Russell goes and makes it look easy! We're so pleased your first morning booking rewarded you with a sunrise like that, and we'll make sure Russell sees your fantastic comments.

The fact you're already talking about another flight might just mean you've caught the ballooning bug!

Thanks,
The Virgin Balloon Flights Team

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