Terms & Conditions

1. Definitions

Service refers specifically to the hot air ballooning mentioned on this documentation and generally to the range of products Global Ballooning Australia, including accommodation and customised activities arranged by agreement.

Service Operator refers to Global Ballooning Australia or any independent contractor supplying/delivering the services to you under the your Agreement with Global Ballooning Australia.

2. Booking a flight

We operate 7 days per week (except Christmas Day – 25th December).

Weekend dates book up 4-6 weeks in advance. Midweek flights from Monday to Friday are usually available.

You agree to 

3. Liability

Under no circumstances will Global Ballooning Australia be liable for direct, indirect, consequential or incidental damages including but not limited to lost or damaged property, lost profits or savings or damages for disappointment.

Global Ballooning Australia may arrange for the hot air ballooning to be performed under a ‘code-sharing’ arrangement, i.e. it may subcontract another ballooning company to provide you with your flight. In such instances, Global Ballooning Australia accepts no liability in connection with such services or for any loss, injury, or damage to or in respect of any person or property. Global Ballooning Australia reserves the right to alter contents of products and location when deemed necessary.

Global Ballooning Australia does however warrant providing services of equal nature and value.

Complimentary photos taken throughout the flight are never guaranteed. On occasion there may be a fault with the GoPro. Due to the camera hanging from the side of the balloon, it is not within reach throughout the flight duration. 

4. Rebooking Your Flight OR Receiving a Refund

If your flight has been cancelled due to inclement weather conditions, please contact our office as soon as possible to rebook or request a refund. Payment received for your flight will be held in credit and applied to the rebooking. Rebooking must be done within 12 months of the first cancelled flight date. Rebooking a flight date is subject to availability. There will be no refunds for any bookings held on our system for longer than 6 months. For any bookings receiving a refund, a $25 admin fee per transaction will be retained. 

5. Alterations, Cancellations & 3rd party Providers

In the unfortunate event you should have to reschedule or cancel your booking, these conditions strictly apply:

• More than 7 days before your flight, you’re welcome to make changes & alterations without any fees incurred. Refunds will incur a $25 admin fee.
• Between 7 days & 48 hours before your flight – a $50 per person cancellation/alteration fee will be charged; weekday flights will need to be rescheduled on a weekday only, excluding public holidays. Refunds will also incur a $25 admin fee.
• Within 48 hours of your flight no changes are permitted – passengers are advised to make their own insurance provisions in the case of unforeseen circumstances, including being unwell to fly due to illness. Under no circumstances will flights be refunded or rescheduled if passengers cancel or do not show for their ballooning experience on the morning of the scheduled flight.

Cancellation fees are strictly non-refundable.

Third Party Bookings

If a booking is made and paid through a third-party agent, Global Ballooning Australia passengers must adhere to third party terms and conditions.

For bookings made through Red Balloon (RB) – once redeemed through Global Ballooning Australia there are strictly no refunds/credits/exchanges applicable. This is stipulated under your chosen product in the IMPORTANT INFORMATION tab under your booked product on the RB website. If you have a cancelled flight, you’ll have 12mths to rebook.

Accommodation and Tour Packages

These packages are non-refundable, and should the flight be cancelled due to inclement weather, this does not apply to an affiliated partner of a package and failing to show for your organised accommodation or tour will result in forfeiting the booking. If you have booked an accommodation or tour booking alongside your balloon flight, the operator may be given your phone number/email to ensure your accommodation/tour runs seamlessly.

Group Bookings, Proposals, Private Flights OR Customised Events/Packages have separate cancellation, alteration & refund conditions, which will be emailed to you or your agent prior to booking. They alter depending on the number of passengers and the date booked. Strictly, no changes are to be made within 14 days of your flight date. These are specified on the group booking documentation supplied or via email. Global Ballooning Australia reserves the right to amend these fees and notice periods. When special circumstances arise, some of these Terms and Conditions may be superseded by those published on your booking confirmation documentation.

Failing to show for your flight – you will lose the full cost of your flight if you fail to show up for your flight. You may send someone else in your place if you wish – please let us know the name of the replacement person before the flight. You cannot receive a refund on any trips booked using a gift certificate. (See Section 6)

For terms and conditions relating to accommodation packages, please refer to your accommodation confirmation. For terms and conditions relating to tour packages, please refer to your tour confirmation.

6. Gift Certificates

Gift certificates are valid only when fully paid by the purchaser or distributor.

Once the certificate has been redeemed (i.e. the trip date has been booked) all other terms relating to Alteration and Cancellation (see Section 5) apply, however the value remains non-refundable. Any gift vouchers purchased prior to 1st November 2019 will be strictly valid for 12mths as indicated on the voucher from the purchase date.

Global Ballooning Australia will honour the value (amount paid) of the voucher for the duration of the time specified on your voucher at the time of purchase. This can be used as a form of a credit to go towards any flight experience/package on the Global Ballooning Australia website. Please keep in mind if there has been a price increase for the experience purchased during the time of your voucher validity, you will be required to match the difference of the total value.

If for any reason we no longer run flights in a particular location, your voucher can be used as a form of credit to go towards any flight experience/package on the Global Ballooning Australia website.

Please note: Vouchers are transferable, but strictly non-refundable (they cannot be redeemed for cash or refunded in part or full). When the voucher is transferred to another individual it is only valid for the period indicated thereon.

Always check the validity of your voucher as the voucher expiry date and terms are subject to change when applied to any discounted bookings/vouchers, donations, secondhand vouchers, monetary gift vouchers or if part of a loyalty program.

7. Discounted Bookings/ gift certificates

Any discounts or special offers are only available on the full recommended retail price and are valid for a strict 12-month period unless otherwise stated. They are not valid in conjunction with any pre-existing discounts or seasonal specials. Any discounts/coupons need to be presented at the time of booking. No amount will be refunded if a discount/coupon is presented after initial booking. Any bookings or gift vouchers purchased using a discount or special offer are strictly non-refundable. Bookings/vouchers are transferable to other individuals and are valid only for the period indicated thereon. All terms relating to Alteration and Cancellation (see Section 4) apply, however the value remains non-refundable.

8. Weather, Mechanical, Staffing, Safety & Other Conditions

Hot air ballooning relies on suitable weather conditions in order to proceed safely. Information on specific weather considerations is provided at the time of making the booking. Additionally, flights may be dependent on mechanical performance or staffing availability. When conditions are deemed by Global Ballooning Australia to be unsuitable or unsafe to proceed, then trips may not go ahead on the scheduled date. Similarly, a trip may be postponed due to less than minimum numbers being achieved. (Please note, if you have booked an accommodation or winery tour package and the balloon flight is postponed, the accommodation or winery tour will proceed on the scheduled date. See terms and conditions on your accommodation or winery tour confirmation).

Our Melbourne flights may not always fly over the central business district (CBD/city area). Whilst our pilots will endeavour to fly as close to the CBD as possible, our flight path is determined by the most up to date meteorological conditions to ensure the safest possible flight for all concerned.

In the unfortunate event that a service must be delayed, rescheduled or cancelled due to any of the above factors, Global Ballooning Australia will hold payment in credit and offer alternative booking dates. Global Ballooning Australia will not accept any liability for travel, accommodation, inconvenience or other costs incurred or lost through such cancellation. International, interstate and country visitors should factor the possibility of short notice cancellation.

9. Re fly

On very rare occasions a flight may be deemed by the pilot in command to be of poor quality. This may be a flight that is either shorter than normal or may experience poor visibility. The pilot may offer to re fly all passengers free of charge. Any free of charge re fly can only be taken midweek by the passenger on the original flight. This is not transferable.

10. Release of images and photographs

Global Ballooning Australia Pty Ltd may take photographs or videos during the flight for promotional purposes or for purchase after the flight. By booking a flight date, you authorise, and have the authority to confirm on behalf of any Accompanying Passengers/Minors or any Unaccompanied Minor, that Global Ballooning Australia Pty Ltd may use any images from the flight for promotional or other commercial purposes, on the Global Ballooning Australia Pty Ltd website and social media channels.

11. Your Responsibility

(a) You must fly within the time limit of your gift certificate or rebooking date. Therefore, please do not leave it until the last minute to book. If the weather is unsuitable or if there is no availability you may have to try again. It is your responsibility to make as many attempts as necessary to fly as your voucher will expire.

(b) It is your responsibility to ensure you have received booking confirmation details of your flight; please notify the Global Ballooning Australia office immediately, prior to your flight date if you do not have this information. You are also required to follow the flight checking procedure outlined in the booking confirmation email link the evening before your flight.  Global Ballooning Australia cannot be held liable for the consequences of not checking the flight update as per your booking confirmation, in order to receive the latest update.

(c) In the interests of safety, you undertake to follow the advice of the pilot and ground crew, comply with any local codes of conduct and act sensibly and prudently at all times. You also agree to indemnify Global Ballooning Australia, its owners, officers and employees for all losses and/or damage arising from any act or default on your part or the part of a member of your party. Under no circumstances at any time during supply of the Services should you or a member of your party be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, nor should you take medication that could affect or impair your judgment at this time.

(d) Check with your medical practitioner if you have a pre-existing medical condition that may be affected by the physical nature of hot air ballooning. You agree to indemnify Global Ballooning Australia, its owners, officers and employees against any incident related to your health occurring during or after supply of the Services.

(e) Personal belongings taken on board are at your own risk.

(f) Ballooning is an outdoor adventure activity, and Global Ballooning Australia cannot be held liable for damage to any clothing.

(g) in the interests of safety, there is a strict requirement that the Global Ballooning Australia Office team are advised about the interest in bringing an ‘assistance dog’ on board at time of booking. Global Ballooning Australia and/ or the Pilot in Command can refuse the dog on the morning of the flight if we feel that the dog will have an adverse effect on safety.

(h) Global Ballooning Australia permits the carriage of assistance dogs. However, passengers intending to bring an assistance dog on the flight must inform us in advance for assessment and approval by the pilot. The pilot in command retains the authority to approve the presence of any animal on board, ensuring that it does not compromise aviation safety. While the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 provides protections, CASA legislation empowers Global Ballooning to refuse the carriage of an assistance animal if there’s a reasonable belief it may pose a risk to aviation safety.

12. Google AdWords

Global Ballooning Australia uses Google Analytics features based on Display Advertising (Remarketing and Google Analytics Demographics and Interest Reporting). These features use first-party and third-party cookies to inform, optimise and serve ads based on your past visits to the Global Ballooning Australia site.

This allows Global Ballooning Australia to report on demographics for understanding the site’s audience and display ads that relate to products and services you have viewed on the Global Ballooning Australia site as you browse third party sites on the Google Display Network using Remarketing.

Visitors can opt out of Google’s use of cookies by visiting Google’s Ads Settings or by visiting the Network Advertising Initiative opt out page

Global Ballooning Australia Pty. Ltd. ABN 32 156 541 703. Terms and conditions subject to change without notice.

If you are concerned that we have not complied with your legal rights or applicable privacy laws, you may bring a complaint internally through our complaints process or you may decide to make a formal complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (www.oaic.gov.au) (which is the regulator responsible for privacy in Australia).

We will deal with complaints as follows:

Step 1: Let us know

• If you would like to make a complaint, you should let us know by contacting our General Manager (see below for contact details).

Step 2: Investigation of complaint

• Your complaint will be investigated by our General Manager.
• A response to your complaint will be provided in writing within a reasonable period.

Step 3: Contact OAIC

• We expect our procedures will deal fairly and promptly with your complaint. However, if you remain dissatisfied, you can also contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner as follows:
  Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC)
  1300 363 992
  www.oaic.gov.au
  Complaints must be made in writing:
  Director of Compliance
  Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
  GPO Box 5218
  Sydney NSW 2001

14. Contact us

Any complaints or correspondence in relation to this Privacy Policy should be sent to our General Manager at:

Global Ballooning Australia

Attention: General Manager

[email protected]

30 Dickmann St, Richmond VIC 3121

We endeavour to respond to all complaints and correspondence promptly.