Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Ride in Phoenix

The pilot & crew were so professional & nice. They made the entire experience amazing ! So much fun ! Another activity checked off of my bucket list !

Amazing experience! And Grateful for the guide that made it fun for all of us as well

I almost feel like you get what you pay for. There seemed to be other more reputable companies advertised but I chose this one simply based on there was a promotion. From the beginning things weren’t going as expected because the crew arrived over 15 minutes late with no forewarning. When we arrived to our proposed launching site and they began to attempt to fill the balloon, the fan failed. At which point our pilot, Shane, was ready to throw in the towel. His female partner decided to ask the other company who was launching from the same site to borrow one of their fans and they obliged. We all loaded into our basket and shortly after boarding, Shane shared that there was a fuel line leak and we wouldn’t be able to go out today. We all waited thinking he was joking but he was serious. One of the attendees asked what the issue was with the fuel line and Shane ignored him. We all disembarked and the young lady asked Shane if she should ask the neighboring company if they had space for us to go with them. Shane responded, “I wouldn’t. But if you want to, I guess you can.” Unfortunately they did not have space. So we were told we could reschedule and the young lady was apologetic while Shane smoked a cigarette and dismantled the balloon. 4/6 of the riders in this group were not going to reschedule. The other 2 said they needed to check their schedules. That 2 also walked over to see the name of the other company that was launching. While they had walked away, Shane came over and shared they had found a spare O-ring and the fuel line could be repaired and we could go out now. He shared, “I know most people who have seen us fail like this may not want to go up now, but I’ll leave it up to you.” As a group, we decided we would go. Once in the air, of course it was beautiful. There was a time we were flying pretty low over the interstate and a trucker honked his horn but it could have been friendly, I guess. All in all, the flight time was pleasant. I did experience what I perceived as a micro aggression, a mention of need for coconut oil because the dry air could make me ashy as I’m from Florida and not used to it. As I exited the van, I was also approached by the pilot stating I had a $20 balance and when I questioned him about what it was for he said “A fuel charge.” I was the only one asked for this and I pulled up the confirmation email from them that stated “ A group tip has been automatically added in the amount of $20.00. For a total of $20.00 PAID AFTER THE FLIGHT WHTH THE PILOT CASH OR CARD. If you feel our flight crew did a good job, we encourage a post flight tip!” When i shared that with the pilot and explained that I had given the young lady (who was extremely pleasant and helpful) the tip ($20) at the landing site as everyone else had, he said ok I guess I’ll just take it from her. I felt he was attempting to pressure me into giving more tip, as he had mentioned earlier that his assistants are volunteers and unpaid. This made me especially uncomfortable because he did not approach anyone else like this. And for context, I was a solo black female traveler. Ultimately the flight was completed safely but the surrounding issues made this less than a 5 star experience. In the future I would book with a different company. Hospitality is just as important as technical skill, and the pilot fell short on hospitality and customer service skills.