Air Balloon Flights With Infant

[Tony G]

Hi all,

we are going to Orlando for Easter and were planning a balloon ride.

Could anyone who has been on one comment as to how suitable it would be for an infant (19 months old)?

I've seen a few sites that say they won't fly a child under 6 and that got me worried. [msnscared]

[Robert5988]

The basket can tip over on landing and be dragged a little. Nothing too violent but you need to hang on, and I suspect that would rule out an infant.

[vanessag]

We were thinking of doing this with our 4 and 6 year old, however a thought flashed through my mind of our 4 year old boy climbing out of the basket while we were flying! We decided to leave it a couple of years!

[melfrank]

Sounds a bit risky for an infant

[Tony G]

Hmm.... I emailed the balloon company, and they responded that if the weather's good, it should be fine. There are two problems with taking a very young person on board:

1) Each occupant needs to be able to hold on for the landing. This would be very difficult if someone's holding a baby.

2) The burners may frighten young ones (I guess that depends on the child).

I'm thinking of booking and buying a handsfree infant-carrier, so that whoever is holding the baby can have both arms free to hold on. Also, the baby will be strapped in.

There is an option to help with the balloon inflation before the flight, so maybe a walk around the area with the baby will tell us how afraid he will be of the burners. If he's too scared, or if the weather's bad, one of us will not fly and take him home.

I dunno, I'll probably change my mind again tomorrow!

[florida4sun]

No balloon company would be flying in such conditions. Of course private flights may take the risk. Experienced companies will only fly in perfect conditions based on a reliable time window. Good pilots can land a balloon on a dime. If the weather window (typically they allow 6 hours) is not suitable then the balloons do not fl. The company we use are very very experienced, flights ahve been I the 1000s with a 100% unblemished safety record.
Robert is incorrect as infants are allowed on our flights. For anyone who has not flown, the flight is surprisingly smooth, there is not feeling of motion at at all, it is as though you are stood on the ground, non buffeting or jigging around. It is a wondeful experience. With a clear window, sunrise rise flights in Florida offer some of the best flight conditions in the world. Typically weather patterns build up in the afternoons. I conditions do no permit then your are offered another day or not charged.



<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Robert5988
The basket can tip over on landing and be dragged a little. Nothing too violent but you need to hang on, and I suspect that would rule out an infant.
[/quote]

[Robert5988]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Robert is incorrect as infants are allowed on our flights.[/quote]

Here we go again!

Why is Robert incorrect! I am not aware that 'your' company was even mentioned when I posted my reply!

The OP asked

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Could anyone who has been on one comment as to how suitable it would be for an infant (19 months old)?

I've seen a few sites that say they won't fly a child under 6 and that got me worried.[/quote]

To confirm what the OP states you can Google 'Florida Balloon Flights' and you will find scores of companies, many(the majority?)that have an age restriction of 5 or 6 years.

That 'your' company allows infants doesn't mean that the other companies do not have valid reasons(as one explained in the email to the OP) for their restrictions; or that they are inexperienced.

I simply mused the reason for these restrictions was that the basket could tip over on landing(hence the need to hold on)

Incidentally I totally agree that the fights are a wonderful experience - smooth etc and very safe; but personally I wouldn't take an infant on one.

[LiesaAnna]

if this was me, i would've maybe tried it myself to see how it would feel, if you find you dont like the balloon ride, you would show your emotions to your child and maybe scare him/her?
personally i wouldnt take a small child on the balloon,

[floridadreamvilla.co.uk]

We did it with our 6 and 8 year old's last summer and loved it.

The basket tipping over on landing comment above is valid but I would think the exception rather than the rule. When we landed, 4-5 members of the staff on the ground grabbed ropes hanging from each side of the basket to keep it steady and it was a very gentle landing.

I would however think about the sound of burners and very young children as they can be quite loud and sudden if you are not expecting them. Nothing too bad though and our children were fine with it.

[aster]

We did it in the UK with a very reputable firm but still hit the deck hard, flipped over and were dragged 20 metres through a caravan park, I had to walk back through the field to collect my watch and half of my shirt. Our son was 4 at the time and I managed to keep hold of him but I would not recommend it.