1. Global Ballooning Australia has been successfully operating for 23 years now – we live & breathe Melbourne!
We have an impeccable safety record which is due to our commitment to operate Australia’s best maintained fleet of balloons. Our Maintenance Manager, Barry Ward has attended maintenance courses at the two leading balloon manufacturers, Cameron Balloons in Bristol, England and Kavanagh Balloons in Sydney.
2. We are unique – Melbourne is one of the few cities around the world that can be traversed by hot air balloon and definitely one of the best ways to see Australia’s second largest city!
3. Imagery of our balloons are promoted in domestic and international publications to showcase our beautiful city. Global Ballooning Australia is the preferred ballooning operator of Tourism Victoria and therefore the state government. Having flown hundreds of visiting journalists, we have been able to showcase Melbourne and Yarra Valley regions.
4. We are the largest ballooning company in Victoria, running flights over Melbourne and Yarra Valley with a fleet of 17 balloons and having safely flown over 110,000 passengers. Our pilots are the best in the industry, firmly passionate about ballooning and have a combined total of over 14,000 hours flying balloons. Global Ballooning Australia Pilots maintain the highest possible qualifications and standards in Australia.
5. The Global Ballooning Australia team is an active member of the tourism industry promoting ballooning to Victoria, Australia and the world! Recent countries we have visited to promote the iconic image of ballooning include; New Zealand, North America, Europe, Asia and all major Australian cities.
6. Proud owner of Global Ballooning Australia, Kiff Saunders is a well-known balloon pilot, auditor and trainer. He has grown the business with a successful team, ensuring safety as a top priority. Kiff has accomplished many exciting goals…
- Kiff is one of only a handful of Australia’s top commercial instructors to be made a delegate of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA). He is highly regarded within the industry and holds the highest possible qualifications in ballooning. He is also responsible for the issuing of commercial balloon pilot licences.
- Kiff represented Australia at 4 World Ballooning Championships
- He achieved an ‘Australian first’ in 1995 by being the first balloonist to fly across Australia’s highest peak Mt. Kosciusko and over the Snowy Mountain range
- Kiff also helped setup Nepal’s first commercial ballooning company offering passenger balloon flights over Katmandu and awesome views of the great Himalayan range.
- In 2002, Kiff was inducted into the Australian Ballooning – ‘Hall of Fame’ for services to ballooning.
- Together with Quark Expeditions, Kiff travelled to the North Pole and introduced world-first tethered balloon flights to passengers in 2012.
- Global Ballooning Australia won an Australia-wide tender to manage the production and operations of the Patricia Piccinini Sculpture – ‘Skywhale’ to mark the Centenary of Canberra in 2012.
7. Global Ballooning Australia is an award-winning business, taking home GOLD at some of the most recent events:
- WINNER – 2014 RACV Victorian Tourism Awards ‘Tour and/or Transport Operator’ category
- WINNER – 2014 Victorian Disability Sector Awards ‘Business and Community Supporting Disability’ category
8. We are proud to be the first and only Victorian hot air ballooning operator to publicly commit to offsetting our greenhouse gas emissions by partnering with Greenfleet, Australia’s first biodiverse carbon offset provider. We are taking on a leadership role in an area where we can make a difference and set an example to our industry.
In 2013-14, we offset 133.34 tonnes of CO2-e with Greenfleet.
9. Together with Burt & Davies Transport Accident Lawyers, Global Ballooning Australia has an Easy Access Basket. The first of its kind in Australia, this unique basket allows us to host people with disabilities – it has a door, a seat, a grab handle and seat belts.
10. Global Ballooning Australia loves to assist in marketing not only our business but also other Victorian businesses. This allows us to offer our passengers a superior experience. We have fabulous relationships with accommodation and tour operators around Victoria. We act as a ‘one-stop-shop’!
The team here cannot wait to get you on a flight over Melbourne or the Yarra Valley so you can tick it off your BUCKET LIST and share your amazing experience with others!
We love & appreciate your support.
Cheers,
The friendly team at Global Ballooning Australia.
