I bought this experience for my husband and I 2 years ago for our anniversary, well we couldn't go because of the weather and the company called and said we had to reschedule and that I could use my voucher anytime. Well life happens, I know it's been two years but I just tried going on the website and I see the company is no longer in business. I'm so upset I have a voucher for a balloon ride for the amount of the price that I paid for and now that the place is closed I'm out of all that money. The company should have called me to inform me that they were going out of business and offered me a refund instead they just ran with my money and didn't call me one time. read more

Wonderful pilot and team! Wonderful communication and great overall experience! Beautiful bucket list experience. read more

Austin Aeronauts Hot Air Balloons - Hot Air Balloons Near Me

Like most things today, the actual product pales in comparison to what's advertised. After experiencing multiple cancellations for about a year we (me and my daughter) finally "ascended" this morning. Like several times previously, we waited around yesterday in hopes of finally going up in the balloon. They advertise to let customers know shortly after 3pm the day before. Yesterday around that time we received a "maybe," which was better than a cancellation. However, since we live about an hour's drive from the site, we got a hotel near the launch site. We received a call a little before 5 that the flight was a go, and customers are to be on site by 5:30am...hence the hotel room. We got to the site, and similar to my time in the Marine Corps it was "hurry up and wait." We finally launched around 7am, and about an hour later we set down in a cornfield. We were expecting this to be similar to a bus tour that points out interesting or historic sites, but there was none of that. The next hour or so was spent getting the balloon packed up, and then we hopped into vans and were taken back to where it all began. We had a short celebratory gathering, and then we headed home. Bottom line, I would never do it again...it's just not worth $600. read more

Of course you have to make payment when booking, pretty common practice. What is not common is deciding to close down without any communication and just keep the booking money like you provided the service. These owners are trash and thefts. read more

I booked a hot air balloon trip with Austin Aeronauts ~2 years ago for $600. They canceled last minute ~8 times and weekends were always booked up months in advance. They used to give me a code to rebook and didn't the last time. Now they are out of business based on what I see on Yelp and Trip Advisor. Their website is gone and their number is disconnected. Scam. My friend is a lawyer and recommended to report them to BBB, https://www.bbb.org. Write reviews. Then file a lawsuit in small claims court. Austin Aeronauts (512) 440-1492 info@austinaeronauts.com austinaeronauts.com read more

My now fiance gifted me this ride for Christmas, with the intention to propose on the ride. We woke up at 4am to a call saying it was cancelled. He told them he was planning to propose and it was really important and they told him that they would contact us another day that weekend to reschedule. We didn't hear back for 3 days and by that day we had a flight to catch. We had to reach out to them to get any sort of status update and to finally request a refund. The only mildly decent thing they did was issue a partial refund since we were from out of state. They still kept 20% of it though, which is just a terrible way to run your business especially if you didn't do anything/try at all to get in contact with the customers. If you want to make money but never have to do anything you should start a hot air ballon company. All in all, we do not recommend this company. read more

What a breath taking journey through the sky at sunrise! It was my wife's and my 12 year anniversary and I wanted to do something special. So I found Austin Aeronautics and booked a hot air Ballon ride. I'm afraid of heights but I was determined to brave it for something we had talked a lot about doing. It is an early rise time for a Sunday... have to be there by 6:30 am. We did it though. We got to watch the balloons get started...it is really something to behold! then we jumped in and up in the air we went. It was amazing! Besides the first few feet I wasn't scared at all. It was sooo calm and wonderful, picturesque, and peaceful. Like majestic birds we floated and soared on wind currents meant for the whispers of loving cares and whispers of longing. Our pilot was amazing... our other passengers lovely... and the experience was outstanding! After an hour we found a field to land in... after a perfect landing... we helped break down the balloon and they took us back to a special champagne "return to earth" ceremony. I highly recommend this adventure to all!! It is soooo worth it!! I mean it... you have to try this!! read more

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I completely understand weather isn't under anyone's control. I do believe the paying policy is. This business would benefit on working on a deposit system where you pay in full upon rendered services. This gives the customer an out if necessary. It is better for the business because they have the possibility of filling the seats the customer chose to give up, not to mention you don't have to awkwardly ride in a basket with customers that are disgruntled. We have had three cancelations so far and have spent more in hotels than the balloon ride. Hopefully one day we will get to go up. read more

It wouldn't surprise me if these people don't even own a balloon. We have scheduled and rescheduled 5 flights over the past 7 months, and all have been cancelled. They are creative in coming up with new reasons every time. Cloud cover, wind, muddy fields, fog, and on and on. I appreciate that safety concerns are taken seriously, but after a so many cancellations, a refund should be made available. They have a no refund policy, so when times open up, ALL the people that get cancelled on have to rush to book their next attempt at a flight. Such a waste of money and a waste of time blocking out mornings only to get cancelled on over and over again. I wish I had read more reviews before booking. My experience is not unique. read more

As many of the other reviews point out booking a hot air balloon ride in the Austin area is not for the impatient type. Because ballooning is so dependent on weather and the weather here is so fickle be prepared to reschedule multiple times in anticipation of perfect flying weather. I scheduled my ride for my 30th birthday and after about 13 reschedules my 31st birthday had passed by the time I actually went up in the balloon. It was worth the wait and definitely a one of a kind experience. You are encouraged to help inflate and deflate/pack-up the balloon which is very rewarding. The guides are very knowledgeable, experienced, and prioritize great customer service. The post-flight ceremony is intimate and thought provoking. The champagne was expected but the other goodies were a nice surprise. I highly recommend Austin Aeronauts! read more

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Fantastic experience, definitely worth every penny, the ride was amazing and so calming, can't recommend it enough!!

Don't book this unless you live local and willing to wait for the best possible weather because my sister and me have been trying to go on this hot air balloon ride for over 3 almost 4 years. We have rebooked over 10 times and still haven't went on this adventure. We are tired of waking up early only to get down the road and they call to cancel. They won't refund us either. read more

Wow... just... wow!!! Was in Austin for a wedding that had this as an optional activity. A FREAKING BALLOON RIDE!!! There were lots of people so we went up about 10 meters (30 feet or so maybe a little higher) to make this practicable in a realistic time. The sensation was AWESOME!!! The staff was really well-organized and kept things rolling along. The sensation of floating is mind-bending in the best possible way. Do not pass up a chance to try this out! read more

We just landed after a wonderful flight in the balloon! A great experience from a great group of people. We got cancelled once due to weather but totally understandable as safety first. Very friendly and informative. Thank you! read more

Austin Aeronauts Hot Air Balloons - Hot Air Balloons Near Me

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I scheduled to go in September. I have been rescheduled 6 times and haven't been able to yet and David says there is nothing he can do

I can't say enough great things about David. My fiancée and I were unable to attend our flight, but David was very understanding and kind regarding the refund process. Truly wish we could have enjoyed our trip, but we look forward to booking as soon as we settle into our new home! Five stars because David is a quality guy and you can tell that from the moment you speak with him. read more

I DID NOT FLY, we got the refund after two attempts. It is very easy for the fly to get cancelled. 10mph wind, low clouds, rain, etc. I am sure it would be a wonderful ride. READ PLEASE! The first attempt was the proposal day, I had to go on plan B to give my now wife the ring. So DO NOT depend on this ride as your only option if you are proposing. The second attempt was for our anniversary but we already had plan B, and it was cancelled one more time. CONTINUE READING ... David, was always with great attitude and nice manners. He never missed to call when he said he was going to call, he was also very patient and understanding. I did not purchased the "Refundable Flight" but he was great knowing I was from out of town and had made 2 attempts already and went ahead and refunded the money. Just BEWARE that the "Refundable Flight" is NOT 25dls, it is 10% of your original price. Because that was how much he deducted from my refund. Even though I did not fly with them, I can rate 5 star for great customer service. Just understand that they have NOT control over the weather! I hope I have another opportunity to make it to the balloon ride to write the experience review! read more

Wow, what a wonderful business! Spoiler: I didn't get in the balloon . . . But I'm STILL coming all the way to Yelp to sing their praises. Let me explain. A friend was coming from Australia and had "riding in a hot air balloon" on his bucket list. Sure, why not? Lets do this. So I called Austin Aeronauts to ask about the options. David was great, explained everything thoroughly and was very reassuring. I bought two tickets for the country champagne flight. The week my friend was here we tried twice, David calling at 5 am to let us know that the low clouds wouldn't let us fly. My friend went back to Australia but I held onto the tickets, thinking maybe I would use them. I didn't, and about a month later I realized I needed to get a refund. When I called David to ask about it he mentioned that there's an optional refundable ticket that's a separate purchase. I hadn't done that, but sure enough when I read the literature it was clearly outlined. David could have easily made me keep the tickets, but instead he gave me the refund (minus the refund fee that I would have paid had I actually READ the information!). Wow. Unbelievable! Customer service, flexibility, and understanding. Tell me where you'll find that in corporate America these days. While we were chatting he reminded me that the ticket never expires. He told me that a customer moved out of the country and came back 15 years later . . . David honored his ticket and took him in the balloon! No need to pay the additional price for inflation, either. Just honored it. Truly a great guy running a wonderful business. One of these days I'll get up in a hot air balloon, and I won't use any other company but this one. Great prices, great business, and an all-around class act. read more

This was amazing! We lucked out that the weather was so good, because it is totally dependent on weather. David, our pilot and the owner, was so friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. I was slightly nervous about being sooooo high up in the air with nothing but a basket between me and the Earth. His calm demeanor put me right at ease. I enjoyed every moment of our excursion and am telling all of my friends that this is a must! read more

David and his team were AMAZING and provided us with a magical experience. My husband surprised me with a hot air balloon adventure, but by the time we scheduled our flight we had found out we were expecting, so it wouldn't be safe to go. Since we'd have to wait for 9 months to fly, we decided to just go see the balloon launch and take some cute pictures for our baby announcement. When we arrived, we found out that for some reason beyond Austin Aeronaut's control the launch had been canceled... BUT, Dave and his team were so sweet and accommodating, they took out the balloon, inflated it, which is a long and difficult process, and let us climb into the basket and even go inside the balloon itself just so we could take magical baby announcement pictures! Restores your faith in humanity, doesn't it? We look forward to our flight with them next year, but are already blown away by their incredible kindness. To say that they went ABOVE & BEYOND is an understatement. We are so grateful for this unique opportunity and recommend them wholeheartedly! read more

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I purchased tickets for a valentines day flight for my wife and I. Feb 14th came and went and because of bad weather we had to keep rescheduling. This morning our 5:00am call came about 15 minutes early and our pilot David was very happy to let us know today was the day for our launch (June 6th) We had waited a long time but I have to confess this was one of the best experiences of our lives. It was well worth the wait. David and Chuck did a wonderful job of making this a very enjoyable, personal and special experience and well worth the wait. The weather this past 5 months as been some of the worst for ballooning which doesn't help those of us who maybe don't have the patience to wait on mother nature. I would very highly recommend Austin Aeronauts to anyone thinking about this as something to do you will write home to mom about. These guys know what their doing and are very professional and safe with their operation. I'm not the first one to coin the the phrase but it apples. Anything worth having is worth waiting for. If you have trouble waiting in line for your Grande single shot extra dry Half-Caf Chai Creme Frappuccino without flipping out then maybe your better off going putt putt golfing and calling it your deep life experience. Or you can drum up a little patience and experience the exceleration of a balloon ascension in the Old World Tradition and afterwards enjoying the warm glow of a nice bottle of Champaign and a Croissant before putt putt golf is even open.. Proud owner of a Certificate of Ascension read more

Austin Aeronauts Hot Air Balloons - Hot Air Balloons Near Me

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Dave and his team were great! We got a beautiful sunrise and lovely champagne afterwards. What a treat!

Great experience! Customer service was also phenomenal. David is able to work with you to make this flight an experience worth remembering. I used this balloon flight as a proposal to my girlfriend and it went perfectly! One thing to remember about hot air balloon is you should expect the weather to disappoint you more often than not. I was canceled on by a different company 3 times in Dallas before scheduling this trip in Austin. But the flight makes all those instances worth it! Be flexible with your schedule and enjoy! read more

My boyfriend got me a hot air balloon ride certificate LAST Christmas. We have yet to take this adventure. We have put ourselves on the schedule several times and every time it gets canceled. It is very frustrating, and I am not sure if this is standard or not. The guy that runs this outfit, says that it depends souly on the weather, which does make sense. However there have been several scheduled days that are seemingly beautiful calm days. I am not by any means a meteorologist, so again, I am not sure what is involved in the decision making process of going up, all I know is that we have not been up. I think Ray paid about $500 bucks for the ticket, and we are just hoping at this point that maybe we sell it... The guy says that people do in fact go up... unfortunately, we just haven't been able to. read more

My spouse and i were not able to fly. We have been scheduling since April and it gets cancelled every time due to the weather. I finally called to get my money back and David said he would be willing to make an exception and by exception meaning take out $50 from the total i paid. I asked for clarification and he said most people are grateful for this and i had to explain to him that i wasn't trying to argue or question him but simply trying to understand why there is a charge for refund when i wasn't even made aware of it in the very beginning. He responded "i need to make money as well". I am very disappointed with the whole thing as we really wanted to fly but it hasn't happened since April. I am also bummed as i am losing money. read more

It has been over a month since I took a flight with David and Chuck! My roomies said I was glowing for days afterwards. I was able to see a dream come true. My dream was difficult for I wanted to play my harp in flight. David was able to compromise and come up with an idea I never thought of. Totally made my day. He even told us some of the best photo opportunities before they came up for pictures. They both are very kind and sweet and have gone out of their way to make everyone's experience a wonderful delight. I am hoping to take others with me soon for another flight. Do yourself the favor and book directly with them. Avoid 800 and 888 numbers. It cost more (over a hundred dollars) and they end up booking with them anyways. Stay local. Stay true. Happy Flight! read more

My wife got me the hot air balloon ride for my 70th birthday. We have tried more than 10 times to set our ride up with David Smuck, the owner, whenever we planned to be in Austin visiting our children, but wind, fog, or other weather conditions have cancelled our plans. After almost 2 years of trying, I asked David for a refund and he obliged us immediately. We still plan on having a ride with Austin Aeronauts at some time in the future. read more

My sweet husband just wanted to give me a birthday present that was something I always wanted to do. so my husband bought me a balloon ride for my birthday in 2015. Yes, 2015 and as of today, a year later, we have still NOT been able to ride. We have attempted this experience some 8 different times and 8 times Dave has called us to cancel. It seems there's always some reason why our ride is cancelled; either it's been due to it's cloudy, it's windy, it might rain, or there's some issue with the taking off and landing site location. The ride may be wonderful, but at this point, I feel like we will never ride a hot air balloon. Dave may be a nice man, but he's always booked up or should I say backed up with riders waiting for their turn. After so many attempts that end up in disappointment, we have asked for a refund. I feel we should receive a full refund for the $700 that we paid a year ago. I am done with being excited and then let down every time Dave has called to cancel. I am done with getting up super early, getting dressed and even on the road to receive yet another cancellation phone call. I am very upset, to say the least! I hope Dave os an honourable business man and promptly processes our refund request! I will update everyone once I know the outcome. read more

I was given a hot air balloon ride as a birthday gift from family and friends. My husband and I were able to go up today and it was great! All the people who pilot and crew the balloons were awesome, friendly, funny, answering questions, explaining things. We had to reschedule several times because of weather but it was well worth the wait. I'd do it again in a heartbeat and I'd certainly use Austin Aeronauts. read more

David was very pleasant, knowledgeable and safe. We had to be very patient with timing due to TX weather. After learning from David that safety would NOT be compromised, I had to help my group to understand the importance of safety. It did take a couple attempts, but we were able to get in the air and it was an AMAZING experience. I would highly encourage you to fly with Austin Aeronauts, they have 30 years of experience and are just nice people read more

We have not taken our ride. We have been rescheduling since June 2014. Has anyone had any luck with a refund? I requested a refund but David just rescheduled. I wish he would just keep 10% and put me out of this misery! read more

Absolutely fabulous! My husband purchased the Country Champagne Flight for my 50th birthday last year. Although we had to reschedule several different times due to unfavorable flying conditions, it was worth the wait ten times over. And truthfully, I was really glad that David (our pilot) erred those times on the side of caution and safety rather than risk anything for the sake of money. The whole experience was magical and fun. It wasn't just a matter of flying for a little while and then it's over with. You get to be present while the balloon is being setup, which was spectacular in itself watching the flames and fan fill the balloon while the sun is rising. You even get to help if you want! Then the flight happens and it is the most relaxing and spiritual experience you could ever imagine. The flight was gorgeous and breathtaking. It was slow and quiet and peaceful. If you ever wonder what it must feel like to be a bird just soaring through the sky, this is it. The take-off and landing were very soft and effortless. We got to help pack up the balloon before heading back to the original launch site where David and his crew set up a precious little picnic table complete with champagne and croissants. David then presides over a flight ceremony where he toasts/blesses the experience. It was very heartwarming and touching. The experience was so fabulous that it really made my husband and I feel like we were dating again. Every time we look at the beautiful pictures we took we both feel just like we did that day. Just thinking about it all makes me get teary-eyed because it was so miraculous for us both. If we could afford to do this every month, we would! read more

After 2 years and 1 month I can say 'it really was worth the wait'! It was a beautiful morning and a wonderful ride!