Hot air balloon trip questions to settle before you reserve Tennessee dates
These are the hot air balloon trip questions the office hears most, answered as plainly as it can. If yours is not here, write to sunrise@tennesseeballoonrides.com.
Questions about the flight
How early do I have to get up?
It depends on the trip, and every trip prints the time you leave your lodging. Sunrise flights meet about thirty minutes before the sun comes up, so in June that can mean leaving before 5 a.m.; predawn flights leave earlier still. If early starts are hard, look at the evening flights for a Nashville or Brentwood stay, or at the February and November trips, when sunrise is later.
What if the weather is bad on flight day?
Before the meeting, the pilot decides whether the wind and weather allow a flight, and the decision is final. The balloon company then offers another flight time or cancels the flight under its own terms, and the quote states what each company charges, if anything, for a weather cancellation. Trips with a second morning in the stay give the flight a second chance on the same trip.
Who makes the flight?
A local balloon company and its pilot. The office plans the trip and reserves the flight with that company; the company sets the passenger rules, chooses the field from the wind each morning and runs the flight.
How old do children have to be?
The office plans the Franklin-area flights for flyers aged 6 and up. The company near Murfreesboro states its youngest age in the quote, and every company asks each flyer what it needs before it confirms.
Can we have a basket to ourselves?
Yes, on the private flights for two from Franklin, Nashville, Brentwood and Murfreesboro. Shared flights put you in a basket with other guests, up to six or eight to a basket depending on the company.
Questions about the stay
Why are the lodging towns so different?
Because people like different stays: a farm cottage, a room in a small town, a city hotel. The catalog prints the planned drive from each lodging town to the meeting town, so the trade-off between where you sleep and how early you leave is on the page.
Can I choose my own lodging?
Yes. Tell the office in the note, and it prices the trip around the place you choose.
Do the trips include getting to Tennessee?
No. Each trip begins at its lodging in Tennessee, and the journey there is your own arrangement. The office can tell you which lodging town suits a drive from your home city.
Can I add a night?
Yes, and it is often worth it: a later morning in the stay is a weather date for the flight. The office asks the balloon company to keep it open.
Questions about money and paperwork
How do I pay?
Each supplier takes its own payment directly once you accept the quote: the balloon company for the flight, the lodging for the nights. This website takes no payment, and the office never asks for card numbers by email.
Is there a charge for a quote?
No. A quote is free and binds nobody. When a reservation goes ahead, the balloon company or the lodging pays the office a commission.
Does the office sell coverage for a trip that falls through?
No. The office does not sell or recommend any such coverage. If you want it, it is a decision to make on your own, and the quote gives you every supplier's refund terms to make it with.
Can I buy a flight as a gift without a date?
Not from this office. Every trip it sells has dates. You can request a trip for someone else and choose the dates together with them.