Welcome to First Flight
With First Flight you can buy your balloon ride knowing you are flying with the very best.
The company is owned and operated by Nick and Tash, who together with Nigel and our great support team, have been providing Champagne balloon flights in the local area for over 30 years.
We only ever fly with a maximum of 8 passengers in the balloon, ensuring you get the best experience possible, rather than squeezing in 16-20 passengers as many others do.
Our tickets are valid, Mornings, Evenings and Weekends no matter which voucher you buy.
We pride ourselves on our exceptional customer service and attention to detail both before, during and after what we promise will be a memorable adventure (see our TripAdvisor reviews!!). It will be Nick or Nigel that will always fly the balloon, so you can rest assured you will be flying with one of the most experienced pilots in the country.
As it is our business, we take immense satisfaction from personally taking you through the whole process, right from the first phone call to the celebratory glass of bubbles after we have landed. No call centre, no automated check-in line, you can call us direct and speak with your pilot if you have any questions.
We schedule flights all year round with excellent availability, ensuring you get your preferred date without waiting months to fly.
Nick Dunnington.
16°C
Likely Flight Meeting Times
Times may vary up to 30 minutes either way depending on weather and flight location.
| MONTH | FLIGHT (AM) | FLIGHT (PM) |
|---|---|---|
|
March April May June July August September October |
06:30 06:15 05:45 05:30 05:45 06:00 06:30 07:00 |
15:30 17:15 18:00 18:30 18:30 18:00 17:00 16:00 |
For flight times during the winter months please get in touch.
The perfect ballooning experience
Why choose First Flight?
Dheeraj Panchaksharam06/07/2023Nick (from first flight) deserves every 5 star review possible. It was a beautiful experience from start to finish. Definitely worth every penny. And there’s also a celebratory champagne at the end of the ride. Completely safe, reliable and wholesome. Unforgettable memories. Moreover, there was an issue with our card payment. Nick was patient and kind enough to wait for the payment to go through even 2-3 weeks after we flew.Paul Smith24/06/2023Amazing experience from start to finish, Nick looked after us from booking to piloting us would highly recommend to anyone.Martyn Oxenham07/06/2023Thankyou Nick and Steve for the most incredible experience. A fantastic team who were very informative and friendly and made us feel right at ease from the start making the flight even more enjoyable. Really loved help setup and packup the balloon for a hands on experience with drinks provided at the end of the journey! Thanks again for a wonderful experience! 5 stars highly recommend First Flight!!Charlotte Hartopp28/05/2023Excellent service from start to finish. Last week my Auntie, grandad and myself took to the sky in a hot air balloon to scatter my moms ashes as she requested on what would have been her 50th Birthday. It was a very special day and Nick has provided fantastic customer service from the moment I first made contact to arrange the day right up to the very end. On the flight Nick was informative about the landscape we could see around us and when it came time to scatter my mom’s ashes explained what he needed to do before giving us the go ahead, he pinpointed the coordinates and sent them onto me when we were heading back to our take off location. Overall a fantastic flight, topped it off with some Bucks Fizz after the Tetris style packing up of the balloon. Thank you Nick to you and your team for helping my family to make lasting memories.GG T22/05/2023Nick is a real gentleman, excellent communication, great service!Nav Sangha06/02/2023This was a surprise trip for my girlfriend who i proposed during the flight. Nick and his team were excellent, really friendly, flexible and made sure we picked the right day for the flight to take place. They even gave us a bottle of bubbly at the end of the flight. My girlfriend loved it I couldn't of asked for more. Really recommend these guys they were excellent!!Nicola Birdsey19/12/2022Bought a gift voucher for parents. Process was easy, Nick was helpful. My parents loved their balloon flight, they said it was easy to book and was no problem discussing the best dates and times over the phone. It was an incredible experience and they loved every minute. Would definitely recommend.
Our passengers have told us they really rate First Flight’s customer service and our approach to flying. We run a professional balloon company that is all about quality and personal service, not quantity. Our smaller passenger balloons allow everyone on board to have the best possible views, have fun and enjoy the flight in comfort. When you call us to book or simply enquire, you are talking to the pilot who is going to be flying you, not someone in a call centre. No waiting lists to book in, simply choose your date, let us know and we will keep in contact with weather updates.
You’re in very safe hands with Nigel or Nick. They have been flying passengers since 1990 and are two of the most experienced pilots in the country. “The First Flight team prides itself on providing a very special experience for our customers. We love to share our passion for ballooning with a small group – everyone feels involved in the flight and that adds to the sense of adventure!”
The perfect ballooning experience:
- Smaller passenger balloons (2-8 people) for your comfort and personal attention.
- 100% passenger safety record.
- 100% five star TripAdvisor rating.
- Great flexible, flight availability.
- Personal flight booking service.
- We'll keep in touch and let you know the weather prospects for your flight, especially if you're travelling longer distances or have a party in tow.
- Fast, efficient rescheduling if necessary.
- We choose to fly only on better weather days, for your safety and enjoyment.
- We specialise in flying just in our local area: Bristol, Bath, Chew Valley, Mendips and the Somerset levels.
- Superior local knowledge.
- Friendly, helpful team.
- Retrieves in our own vehicles back to the meeting point (if needed).
What our customers say
Going on a hot air balloon was an amazing and special experience thanks to First Flight – Nick and Steve were so friendly and insightful from booking to bubbles after.… read more
7/24/2023
Great! – Our hot air balloon ride was so enjoyable! The boys are super friendly and very informative on everything which is really interesting. I’ve always wanted to go on a hot… read more
6/18/2023
Perfect – My niece arranged a balloon trip with First Flight for a personal family occasion on the 21st May 2023. Nick and the team was really friendly and accommodating to our… read more
5/27/2023
