Thank you for the nice reply, but unfortunately you have posted it to the WRONG company. Our company DOES NOT HAVE FEMALE PILOTS. We ask that you please remove your review from our page and please post it on the appropriate companies page. Thank you.

We are glad you two enjoyed your flight! Captain Neil is a lifelong aviator, and retired Air Traffic Controller! If anyone knows how to have a smooth flight experience, Captain Neil does! We hope to see you again some day! Safe Travels & Soft Landings! Captain Bentley

*NOTE TO CONSUMERS: THIS REVIEW OCURED AS A RESULT OF A FLIGHT BOOKED IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE 9 DAYS OF BALLOON FIESTA IN OCTOBER, THIS EXPERIENCE IS NOT TYPICAL, NOR TO BE EXPECTED THE OTHER 356 DAYS OF THE YEAR. THESE 1/5 REVIEWS ALL OCURED IN OCTOBER. IT IS LIKE GOING TO A RESTAURANT IN TIME SQUARE ON NEW YEAR’S EVE (THEIR BUSIEST NIGHT OF THE YEAR) AND COMPLAINING THAT THE PLACE IS FULL, AND YOU HAD TO WAIT TO BE SEATED, OR HAD SLOWER SERVICE THAN IS NORMAL ANY OTHER TIME.* We are certainly glad you enjoyed your flight so much! This IS what we specialize in - GREAT FLIGHTS! We do also allow guests to participate in holding a rope at set up, and holding a bag handle at pack up, (as you did). We find MOST folks enjoy this opportunity to participate! Landing in a grass park is preferred to the sage brush, as it prevents chase vehicles from getting stuck, and guests do not have to walk amongst the thorny bushes! We do want to take a moment to correctly explain the situation with the private flight you scheduled. We did call to offer you an additional shared basket discount, and gave the 2 of you the space of 3 passengers remaining in a 6 person basket. We comfortably fly 6 in this size basket year-round. The balloon you were scheduled to fly in sustained minor damage the day we called you, and we could not get the fabric damage repaired in time for your flight the next morning (as the only ACCIDENT FREE company here, your SAFETY comes first!) This is the reason we offered to reschedule you to another private flight, OR a shared basket flight (which as you mentioned above WAS great!) We must correct your false statement that “another couple were given your private flight.” This is NOT TRUE. They booked their very OWN private flight, and they had their reservations placed well in advance. Their private flight was booked far before yours (we have a limited number of private baskets). If you had not been so willing to accept the large discount for the shared basket, we would have offered them the discount, or to reschedule, but since you did, we did not ask them. Our sunrise flights DO take place very early. This is why our company’s are the 1st balloons up (allowing you to actually SEE sunrise from the balloon!) We typically point out the other balloons inflating as we fly over them, and folks comment to us how they are “still on the ground AFTER the sun has already come up!” To ensure that we launch promptly with sunrise, we give all guests a 15 minute window (in your case 6:15-6:30). This provides a small time cushion for the courtesy of the many out of town guests we fly, who are not familiar with Albuquerque streets. This was especially critical in 2013-2014 as our interchange exit (232) was completely rebuilt, and had many unplanned overnight closures. This caused folks unexpected delays. You would have been very disappointed had the other guests in your balloon been late, causing YOUR flight to be delayed. After 2+ decades, we plan for these cases, we schedule all times to minimize this happening. We are also happy to explain this on the spot had you mentioned your concern at that time. As you pointed out above, we did arrive in this 15 minute window. We do apologize that a step-stool was not brought out, however, ALL of our balloons are equipped with the convenient woven steps your wife used, and had no problem getting in or out ot the basket. As you pointed out, there were 5 of you. 5 passengers in a full size Ford 15 passenger van is hardly “piling” in. Over exaggerating a possibly reasonable concern does not make you sound more credible, as folks read the facts that explain your complaint. Now, a 15 passenger van pulling a trailer carrying a balloon does not stop on a dime in our early morning rush hour traffic. while we don’t condone willfully breaking the law, a large vehicle “stopping suddenly” in an intersection may be “for more risky” (as you put it) than just clearing the intersection as a light is changing. Also, U-turns ARE in fact legal AND permissible in the city of Albuquerque, no laws broken. Our vehicles and balloons are all equipped with 2-way radios, but sometimes they may be out of range depending on where a balloon has landed. If a pilot cannot reach another crew member via the radio in the event they need help or get their vehicle stuck in the sage, they DO all carry cell phones, and will take a call if a nearby crew needs assistance. As to other companies’ “professionalism,” if you mean flying larger balloons and stuffing 10-14 people in them with only 1 pilot to answer all of their questions, vs. only 2-6 in our balloons, we disagree. Since you did not ride with them, interact with their pilot, observe their methods of packing up and recovery, “pile” 10-14 folks in their identical 15 passenger ford van or ride back to your car in the same traffic conditions, we fail to see where you have ANY legitimate basis to compare any level of “professionalism.” We thank potential guests for researching these reviews (good and bad!) Well educated consumers (Such as YOU) who have now taken the time to read and understand the entirety of this complaint also know that hard as we try, SOMEONE will always find fault with SOME aspect of ANY service, which is why no company on earth has claimed 100% customer satisfaction yet. We are an “EXCELLENT” rated company with the full “5/5” rating on Trip Advisor, and though we can’t please EVERYBODY, we try our best, and we sure look forward to pleasing YOU, our future HAPPY customer! Incredible Journeys!

*NOTE TO CONSUMERS: THIS REVIEW OCURED AS A RESULT OF A FLIGHT BOOKED IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE 9 DAYS OF BALLOON FIESTA IN OCTOBER, THIS EXPERIENCE IS NOT TYPICAL, NOR TO BE EXPECTED THE OTHER 356 DAYS OF THE YEAR. THESE 1/5 REVIEWS ALL OCURED IN OCTOBER. IT IS LIKE GOING TO A RESTAURANT IN TIME SQUARE ON NEW YEAR’S EVE (THEIR BUSIEST NIGHT OF THE YEAR) AND COMPLAINING THAT THE PLACE IS FULL, AND YOU HAD TO WAIT TO BE SEATED, OR HAD SLOWER SERVICE THAN IS NORMAL ANY OTHER TIME.* Thank you for choosing and flying with Private Balloon Flights! We absolutely appreciate your business! Now we see that you started your review with “read this,” and you say it again in the first sentence. We have a feeling you did this because you yourself do not READ things you are asked to (as you did NOT read the boarding pass you were given) so you feel others have to be told multiple times to “read this.” What do we mean? Please “read” on!: We noticed that you like to exaggerate all of your statements in your review by 200% - 300%. This means we have to tell future customers the TRUE facts, so that they may put your review into the proper context. (It is hard for rational guests to put faith and trust in a review that is full of false statements and gross exaggerations.) 1) You claim that you “along with your whole flight group were clueless…” however, there were no other concerns brought to our attention by anyone else in your flight group. If you had “READ” the simple boarding pass you were given, it provides you all of the necessary details for you to have a great flight! 2)You claim you were “inconvenienced” by having to go to 2 different locations to “check in.” This is another false statement. Our check in location is at 8311 Golf Course Rd and is a very brightly lit parking lot which is conveniently located at the corner of Paseo Del Norte, a MAJOR arterial street in Albuquerque, and super easy to find for out of town guests. Once guests have checked in and receive their boarding passes (just like at the ticket counter at the airport), you are directed to your balloon, which is inflating at the launch site (which is a large city park, also on Golf Course Rd.). This is the same procedure as going from the ticket counter to your departure gate at the airport, except a SHORTER trip than at some major airports! 3)There is only 1 flight per morning. 50% of passengers board and launch at about 7:30, the balloons fly for about an hour, then set back down. The second group then boards and the balloon continues on for the remainder of the flight (which is about another hour.) Each party averages 45 min - 1 hour in the air, which is the industry standard world-wide. Splitting the flights for 2 parties usually only occurs during balloon fiesta and for certain parties of 20+ guests. You will not typically see a split flight at any other time of the year. Also, balloon fiesta flights begin launching prior to sunrise, and are permitted to fly until 10 am, so there are PLENTY of balloons to see, no matter which flight group you are on (many times you will see MORE balloons on the 2nd group, as they have all had time to launch by then!) All “off field” companies have split flights. 4)You “had to wait several hours…” our meeting time is 6:00-6:30 am. Sunrise is between 7:00-7:15 am, giving less than an hour from show up to lift off when you are on the 1st group. During the next 45 min - 1 hour, you were given a guided (ground) tour with your crew chief along your balloons flight path to take photos of it AND of the hundreds of other balloons flying, until your balloon sets down, and is ready for you to board. Most sensible flyers do not arrive at an airport a mere 45 min - 1 hour before departure, in case there is any sort of delay. This helps protect you from MISSING your flight in that event. 1:30 - 2:30 is a safer window to ensure you make your flight, as everyone has to allow time to go through check in, and get to their aircraft. You forgot to mention all of the breathtaking photo opportunities there were as our entire fleet of balloons came to life while inflating, and preparing for lift off. (You made it sound like we locked you in a windowless room for “several hours” with nothing to SEE or DO.) We think READERS are beginning to understand your review now, but to be fair we will address ALL of your grievances. 5)“The MOST alarming part…” (TO US) was that you DIDN’T READ the 1 page simple boarding pass that clearly states if you are unable or do not wish to participate “hands on” just let your pilot or crew know, as this is no problem. When you do not bother to READ your instructions, you ASSUME (incorrectly of course) that “manual labor” is involved or even “required.” Now, to clarify the “manual labor” mentioned here, we allow guests to hold a handle on the “stuff sack” that the balloon is put back into after the flight. This is a waist high bag about 3’ across which requires NO strength or effort to stand and hold the bag open. Kids of 5 yrs to spry seniors of 95 have done this effortlessly for decades! The pilot and crew chief then stuff the balloon back into the carrying bag. Guests can also participate in this, but again it is NEVER REQUIRED. 6)“…Gigantic Balloon.” Our balloons are designed to carry 2-6 passengers, and are much smaller than the “gigantic” 12-16 passenger rated balloons flown by all the other large ride companies in Albuquerque. 7)“…basket that weighs close to 1,000 pounds.” Once again, a gross exaggeration. Our baskets weigh 400-600 pounds. You also failed to mention they are equipped with “poly skid runners” or “sliders” which are a plastic material designed to slide across grass VERY easily, which is why all of our baskets have them installed on the bottom. Also, can we safely assume that your 200’ was really 50-60’, or even 20-30’? One may begin to question your accuracy (truthfulness) as we continue to address your numerous dislikes. 8)“…fold up 600 pounds of fabric…” Our balloons weigh 250-375 pounds depending on the size. Even the 16 passenger “gigantic” balloons do not weigh 600 pounds. 9)“…load the WHOLE DAMN THING UP for them before they would take us back to our car.” We presume you expect folks to envision the pilot and crew stood back and watched while people who (didn’t READ their boarding pass) and are “clueless” about balloons loaded our equipment while we did nothing? (We think READERS are figuring this review out by now!) Also, NO company in the country is going to leave a $65k aircraft unattended while they run people back to their cars, and return to collect the parts that were not stolen or vandalized in this short time. 10)“NO STAFF.” Each balloon requires 1 pilot, and each vehicle requires 1 driver. Some of the big 16 passenger “gigantic” balloons have a 2nd vehicle and driver to transport the large crowd back to their cars, but our smaller more intimate setting does not require this. 11)“…roll the “backer” over onto its side…” (READERS of this review are now expected to believe that a frail 73 year old man on his knees was expected to - AND apparently DID - roll a 1,000 pound, 1/2 ton basket over onto its side!) What really happens is for folks who have mobility issues, we offer the option of A) climbing back out over the 3’ side of the basket using the provided woven-in steps, OR B) when the balloon is laid gently down on it’s side to deflate, a person can simply crawl on the flat grass out of the basket, so NO climbing is necessary. Unless the winds are picking up and the pilot needs to lay the balloon down quickly for passengers safety, said guests are given their choice, and most DO choose to crawl out. 12)“…NO shame in asking people to do their job.” NO guests were asked to fly the balloon, or drive the chase vehicle! Guests may be offered the chance to hold a bag handle or sit on the bag to get air out, but NO ONE is “ required” to “do our jobs.” 13)“…Hold you hostage…” We didn’t see any of the other “hostages” from your “whole flight group” leaving bad reviews for us??? 14)“…Made over $43k off just our 2 groups…” Your flight group and the 1st flight group COMBINED totaled 12 passengers. $250 x 12 = $3,000. Even those guests who are “mathematically challenged” can see that you exaggerated that sum by almost 1,500%! (Almost 15X!) 15)“…why not have staff?” This is like waiting to be seated at a busy restaurant when every table is full, and the kitchen is cooking as fast as they can and saying “why don’t they get 10 more waitresses?” What good do more waitresses do when every table has one, and is full of diners? (Now for our purposes substitute pilots/crew for “waitresses” and balloon/chase vehicle for “table”.) 16)“…kept in the dark…” The only reason you were “kept in the dark” as you put it was -as we’ve already covered - you chose not to READ and FOLLOW the simple instructions you, and the nearly 60 other guests who flew that day were given. Of the over 600 passengers we flew the first 2 weeks of October, only a few felt it necessary to leave a bad review for us. The other 596+ passengers READ their boarding pass, “Enlightened” themselves, and went on to have the spectacular balloon flights we are known for! We have a sign that says “99% of folks came here to have a good time today, please don’t be the 1%.” Most guests chuckle at this, as it is VERY EASY to spot the 1% of folks that sign is intended for. We did receive your email on our busiest day of the year and we DO take all legitimate issues seriously. Most are remedied right on the spot, and rarely result in someone being at all upset when they leave as to post a bad review. However! When complaints become exaggerated, outlandish and ridiculous, well, I guess SO DO WE! :-) *For those of you that have read this far and now understand this review, we might point out that this guest also walked away without even paying their bill. Well educated consumers (Such as YOU) who have now taken the time to read and understand the entirety of this complaint also know that hard as we try, SOMEONE will always find fault with SOME aspect of ANY service, which is why no company on earth has claimed 100% customer satisfaction yet. We are an “EXCELLENT” rated company with the full “5/5” rating on Trip Advisor, and though we can’t please EVERYBODY, we try our best, and we sure look forward to pleasing YOU, our future HAPPY customer! Incredible Journeys!

*NOTE TO CONSUMERS: THIS REVIEW OCURED AS A RESULT OF A FLIGHT BOOKED IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE 9 DAYS OF BALLOON FIESTA IN OCTOBER, THIS EXPERIENCE IS NOT TYPICAL, NOR TO BE EXPECTED THE OTHER 356 DAYS OF THE YEAR.* As with most human beings, we react and respond to a situation in a similar manner as is presented to us. The old saying goes "You can attract more flies with honey than with vinegar." So when someone has a comment or issue (as in this case) and begins making demands and threats of posting "Bad reviews" (as WAS threatened AND DONE by this particular individual) it is difficult to accept this verbal ABUSE quietly, and after speaking with this individual PERSONALLY after the flight, I will NOT apologize for our cashier's response to his abuse, and I will confirm she did in FACT return the rudeness! We are only humans, and generally the customer IS right, until their actions make them WRONG, we've ALL seen "THAT CUSTOMER" somewhere who makes even YOU feel bad for that employee, and if you had NOT previously, Please read on! :-) This cashier he refers to IS the SAME young lady who's sweetness and friendliness has been complimented upon (by name even) DOZENS of times in countless reviews right here on Trip Advisor! However none of those guests felt it necessary to "Poke a stick at the proverbial tiger" either, and received the same respect and consideration they payed her. (The "Golden Rule" as it says: "Do unto others..." We learn this in 1st grade folks!) SINCE issues and dissatisfaction are so RARE with the thousands of passengers we fly each year, ANY unusual situation such as this stands out with us. Since the guest did NOT mention the real reason WHY he was upset, we feel it necessary to "tell our side of the story" as Trip Advisor encourages its property owners to do. The concern he brought to MY PERSONAL attention was the NERVE we had to post a sign that politely informed guests of the $2 upgrade we charge for our XXL T-shirts, and he said that his wife was appalled that we would have the nerve to offer a FREE shirt (one which you would pay $15 - $20 for at any other balloon ride company in Albuquerque) but tell an "overweight woman" as he put it, that she had to pay extra for the larger shirt. I tried to calmly explain that since we don't charge for the FREE shirt everyone gets, and we don't charge extra for passengers big enough to need a XXL shirt, (extra fuel being provided also at our cost) it is a necessary option for a small business like ours in order to remain viable & competitive to pass along this very nominal fee ($2) for this custom size shirt. He was not having any of my explanation. He informed me that I "just didn't get it." I (Being a XXL T-shirt wearing man myself) even nicely pointed out the world's largest retailer (Wal-Mart) has a similar charge posted on EVERY shirt rack in the store for XXL & XXXL, and it is not a "Personal attack on his wife" as he made it out to be, but a necessary fee for those few individuals who would rather still have the OPTION of the fee to get a larger shirt, VS us discontinuing XXL all together, and leaving NO option but take a smaller size. As we have stated before, we feel MORE folks would be inconvenienced by NOT being able to get a XXL shirt, than by paying $2 more for the OPTION of getting one. You as the consumer reading this may be asking yourself at this point "Captain Bentley, why didn't you just waive the $2 fee for this guy?" To be 100% honest, we have and we DO waive this fee quite often, but that is at our discretion, and as I hinted to above, the way a person treats us, can and will result in how we respond. I hope that sheds more light on how this particular guest's demeanor affected our response AND the outcome of this situation. This guest was in a travel group of over 40 passengers on this morning, when many of them saw him berating our cashier and threatening to "Leave a bad review" as a means of threat, THEY apologized to HER for his behavior, and MANY vowed to leave positive reviews of the SAME flight and experiences which partially spurred the influx of EXCELLENT reviews for October. The guest also failed to mention that his ride was discounted $91 OFF of our regular fare, so take note that on TOP of this discount he was ALSO complaining about the $2 T-shirt upgrade, so the fact that the weather WAS a bit breezy, and the flights were not as long as we normally like on this day, (Once again, weather factors we cannot control) finances seemed to be his biggest concern. Well educated consumers (Such as YOU) who have now taken the time to read and understand the entirety of this complaint also know that hard as we try, SOMEONE will always find fault with SOME aspect of ANY service, which is why no company on earth has claimed 100% customer satisfaction yet. We are an "EXCELLENT" rated company with the full "5" rating on Trip Advisor, and though we can't please EVERYBODY, we try our best, and we sure look forward to pleasing YOU, our future customer! Safe Travels & Soft Landings! Captain Bentley

*NOTE TO CONSUMERS: THIS REVIEW OCURED AS A RESULT OF A FLIGHT BOOKED IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE 9 DAYS OF BALLOON FIESTA IN OCTOBER, THIS EXPERIENCE IS NOT TYPICAL, NOR TO BE EXPECTED THE OTHER 356 DAYS OF THE YEAR.* It is NOT possible to control the weather. There are never any complaints or disappointments from guests who actually get to fly when we have good weather and are not cancelled. As the only TOP RATED ACCIDENT FREE Albuquerque balloon ride company on Trip Advisor, We DO exercise MORE caution, and this means having to cancel flights on occasion, as safety is our main concern, and NOT profits. It is important to note that the guest was NOT CHARGED anything, as the review makes it seem like they paid for something and were not provided anything. EVERY balloon ride company (except the one that charges about $400 per person) does 2 flight segments per day during the balloon fiesta. The other company charges triple their regular fare to EACH guest, so they don't need to do 2 flights as each guest is paying 3 x more. At no time is any guest ever told there will not be a second flight segment during the balloon fiesta. The other 356 days of the year, 2nd flights are rarely done. Talking to unidentified "Pilots on a field" has no bearing on our company, nor do they have any credible knowledge of our companies policies and practices, and therefor those comments are mere conjecture. We are an "EXCELLENT" rated company with the full "5" rating on Trip Advisor. Though we strive for 100% customer satisfaction, we have not made the Guinness book of world records as being the first company to do so (Yet.) We will continue forward with 98-99% Customer Satisfaction, and try to improve as a result of this review. Safe Travels & Soft Landings! Captain Bentley

*NOTE TO CONSUMERS: THIS REVIEW OCURED AS A RESULT OF A FLIGHT BOOKED IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE 9 DAYS OF BALLOON FIESTA IN OCTOBER, THIS EXPERIENCE IS NOT TYPICAL, NOR TO BE EXPECTED THE OTHER 356 DAYS OF THE YEAR. THESE 1/5 REVIEWS ALL OCURED IN OCTOBER. IT IS LIKE GOING TO A RESTAURANT IN TIME SQUARE ON NEW YEAR’S EVE (THEIR BUSIEST NIGHT OF THE YEAR) AND COMPLAINING THAT THE PLACE IS FULL, AND YOU HAD TO WAIT TO BE SEATED, OR HAD SLOWER SERVICE THAN IS NORMAL ANY OTHER TIME.* We are so glad you enjoyed your flight! We do appreciate your business! We would also like to apologize and clear up your concerns. Our company has the newest most modern fleet of balloons in the entire country! As an ACCIDENT FREE balloon ride operator, we take your safety and comfort very seriously. Our pilots and crews are very outgoing and enthusiastic about ballooning, and sometimes in pointing out the many facts that set us apart, it may make the other companies SOUND bad, but this is not our intent. We apologize if you felt it was. MANY guests mention in their 5/5 reviews here how much fun they had and how they enjoyed “holding a rope or bag handle” as the balloon is packed up. Most find it exciting to participate and consider it part of the adventure! Now to “clear up” and tell folks what you failed to mention in your review is the fact that the boarding pass you were given and asked to read clearly states: “ If you are unable or do not wish to participate in any way ‘hands on’, no problem! Just let your pilot and crew know.” No one is ever REQUIRED to do any participation packing up. As to your comment about the “Higher than average” price you paid, we are EXACTLY the same as the other company in price. However, we include many extra items the other companies DO NOT, making our package more valuable, but NOT more expensive. In many cases, our discounts make us LESS than the other companies. (This does not account for other companies who DEVALUE their service to offer Groupon/ Living Social “Deals.” (THOSE companies KNOW what their service is truly worth!) We have addressed tips in numerous reviews on Trip Advisor. As ballooning IS a service, folks have asked us over the decades “What is an appropriate tip?” As a convenience to our guests (as MOST restaurants do now) we print a small “tip calculator” on the bottom of the receipt, as you saw. This is ONLY a “suggester” and over the course of 2 + decades, we have found most folks leave about 8%-10%. As it also states on the boarding pass you were given “Tips are NOT required.” Families and parties of 6 or less are NEVER required to leave a tip. We wish ALL guests would read the simple one page boarding pass they are given, as these items were covered and would not have resulted in the need to leave our company a bad review. We have found that folks who DO read the boarding pass DO NOT leave bad reviews. Well educated consumers (Such as YOU) who have now taken the time to read and understand the entirety of this complaint also know that hard as we try, SOMEONE will always find fault with SOME aspect of ANY service, which is why no company on earth has claimed 100% customer satisfaction yet. We are an “EXCELLENT” rated company with the full “5/5” rating on Trip Advisor, and though we can’t please EVERYBODY, we try our best, and we sure look forward to pleasing YOU, our future HAPPY customer! Incredible Journeys!