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By Jade, December 20, 2012 5:50 pm

January

Following their acquisition of Northern Rock, Virgin Money launched their brilliant new advert, ‘40 Years of Better’, marking the start of their ‘quest to make banking better.’ We featured alongside Virgin Records, Virgin Galactic, Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Trains as the commercial celebrates the rich history of the Virgin brand. Take a look back and view the TV ad on Youtube here.

February

Adam Fleetwood accepted the challenge to represent Virgin Balloon Flights and complete the Virgin Marathon, all in aid of Birmingham Children’s Hospital. Adam put together a short movie to win the Virgin votes, which you can watch on YouTube here.

Every year the British Heart Foundation has a National Wear Red Day and as always, staff here donned their best red clobber and ate beautiful heart covered cupcakes.

March

Our Virgin London Marathon runner Adam Fleetwood completed the ‘Adidas Silverstone Half Marathon’ as part of his training and his fundraising for Birmingham Children’s Hospital reached over the £2000 mark.

April

The villagers of Wray celebrated  their Silver Jubilee of their annual country fair. Visitors flocked from far and wide to wander round the picturesque Lancashire village of Wray and enjoy the scarecrows which take over each spring. We donated a champagne balloon flight for two as the winners prize for the best scarecrow competition which saw a range of traditional designs, topical creations, some ingenious moving masterpieces and with the Olympics on its way, Olympic-themed scarecrows.

May

We had the first proposal of 2012 when Karl Dalgarno popped the question to partner Lucy Jenkins, 3000ft up in the air.

June

With our 2012 flying season well under way, we officially introduced our new pilots Bart D’Hooge, Chris Oxby, Peter Philpot and Russell Collins.

July

Here at Virgin Balloon flights we teamed up with Daffodil Waves Photography to offer one loved-up couple the chance to win a photo shoot in skies on board one of our balloons. The photoshoot took place on a lovely June evening.

August

August was a time for some brilliant summer events. We celebrated the Great British summer at Bristol International Balloon Fiesta with our record breaking  tea party in the sky (highest open-air airborne tea party). We served sandwiches and cream cakes to our competition winners on china crockery and they enjoyed Twinings tea and English sparkling wine as they floated along, while classical string music played in the bunting-clad basket.

We also had first visit to V Festival at Hylands Park in Essex where we tethered a balloon at the weekend and what a scorcher it was! We provided some additional entertainment for the crowd who could see our balloon from the main stage, bobbing away to music from the likes of Tom Jones and Snow Patrol.

September

A huge achievement for our pilot Lindsay Muir who won the 2nd FAI European Women’s Hot Air Balloon Championship. Congratulations again Lindsay!

Meanwhile, at our Head Office, we took part in the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning in support of Macmillan Cancer Support.

October

Operations technician, Roger Vint was selected as our ‘Star of the Year’ and celebrated in style at Holly and Sam Branson’s house, alongside Sir Richard himself! Meanwhile, back at Head Office, we all got pretty in pink as part of the Breast Cancer Campaign ‘wear it pink’ day.

November

Martin Chamberlain joined us for an airborne adventure from Wadhurst, Kent, and having won the hot air balloon ride over Kent through a photographic competition (sponsored by Canon), it’s no wonder he captured some amazing shots of the views below the basket.

December

Nicola from Daffodil Waves photography was the judge for our pilot and crew photo competition and our passenger photo competition.  Neil Marshall was chosen as the winner of our pilot and crew photo competition. Here is the winning snapshot:

The winner of our passenger competition was Kate Williams with this misty photo:

Thanks to all of our pilots, crew, staff, customers, launch sites and partners for a fantastic year.

Merry Christmas and we’re looking forward to a brilliant 2013!

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By Jade, October 5, 2012 5:23 pm

Once a year, Virgin holds a special evening to recognise the Virgin staff who go the extra mile and beyond the call of duty. This year, Roger Vint was selected to be our Virgin Balloon Flights‘ ‘Star of the Year’. Roger is a highly valued member of the commercial and maintenance team and a great ambassador for the Virgin brand. Company Directors said:

‘His commitment to his role is a testament to Roger’s character, his friendly can do attitude is refreshing and has a positive impact on those around him (we just wish we could bottle it). We are proud to have Roger as part of the Virgin Balloon Flights family and we appreciate the opportunity to thank him in this way.’

The ‘Stars of the Year’ event brought together 31 individuals from different Virgin companies to celebrate their hard work and outstanding achievements. There was over 1,500 nominations from all the companies and Richard said it was an ‘incredibly hard task’ to select just 31. The evening was hosted at Sam and Holly’s (Richard’s children) house, near Oxford. The weather was fantastic meaning the guests could enjoy the last of the Great British summer and it was perfect for the meal and awards ceremony that was held inside a stunning tent in the garden.

Before the dinner, Richard went around the table, asking all the Stars to introduce who they were and what they did. No doubt Richard was personally interested in Roger’s story as  has always been a big passion of his.

Those who have had the pleasure to work with Roger added:

‘Roger arrives each day with a smile and regardless what the day brings, this never changes. He is hard working, never says no and never gives up on a task.  Over the five years Roger has worked for Virgin Balloon Flights he has never had a day off outside of his annual leave. We feel that Roger always makes a 110% contribution and his approach to work is infectious. His commitment, particularly this year, has been immense allowing the team and the company to perform to very high standards.’

Richard blogged about the evening saying:

‘It is so important for every company to remember to recognise and reward its staff. After all, your staff are the lifeblood of your company. At the end of the day, they make all the difference between running a successful business and one that is just run of the mill.’

Again, well done Roger! We’re proud to have you in the team.

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By Jade, June 28, 2012 11:10 am

The Virgin brand is synonymous for its music. One of Sir Richard Branson’s first ventures was the opening of a record store on Oxford Street in London. From this grew Virgin Records, V2 Music, Virgin Megastore, Virgin Radio International, Virgin Media and of course, Virgin Festivals. Here at Virgin Balloon Flights we’re trying to keep up this tradition so we’ve updated our hold music with the best ballooning songs to take you up, up and away. Here are a few of our favourites…

If you’ve got any ideas for other songs we could use for our hold music, facebook us or tweet us with the name of the artist and the song title!

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By Kirsty, February 27, 2012 12:40 pm

Virgin London Marathon together with Virgin Money Giving have teamed up to create a bit of fun for Marathon runners in the form of Marathon News TV.

Last week runners of the marathon were sent a link to create a news piece simply by filling in their details, such fun! Being a good sport, Virgin Balloon Flights marathon runner, freelance designer Adam Fleetwood got his three minutes of fame, which you can watch by following this link:

http://www.marathonnewstv.com/?f=Adam%20&l=Fleetwood&v=AdamFleetwood&ch=Virgin%20Unite&n=1

You can help support our chosen charity Birmingham Children’s Hospital by sponsoring Adam on his Virgin Money Giving Page, every penny counts! You can also keep up to date with his training and fundraising on our blog.

Virgin Balloon Flights fly from over 100 launch sites in England, Scotland and Wales from as little as £89 per person, for further information, please call 0844 8448080 or visit virginballoonflights.co.uk

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By Alex, December 19, 2011 3:10 pm

Well, the festive season has landed and 2011 has simply flown by here at Virgin Balloon Flights. (New Year’s resolution: no more balloon puns!).

It’s been a fantastic 12 months with thousands of new airborne adventurers, fantastic personal achievements by staff and charity campaigns galore! Enjoy some of our highlights in pictures below.

January

Steve Dubois of SteveOnTheRun.co.uk,  from Virgin Media in Cambridge, visited Virgin Balloon Flights HQ for a training run with our Eve (who ran a half marathon this year for Hope Hope) and Sue as part of his preparation for the Virgin London Marathon. Entrepreneur Mark Pearson, of MyVoucherCodes.co.uk fame, told us about his unforgettable balloon flight in Surrey the previous season.

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By Kirsty, December 15, 2011 6:42 pm

“As the Virgin Unite Insider for Virgin Balloon Flights, the opportunities to use ‘business as a force for good’ are endless. When the chance of going to South Africa with Sir Richard Branson and his connection trip guests came my way courtesy of Virgin Unite, of course I grabbed it by the (Buffalo) horns and got packing!

A jam packed schedule allowed me to meet some of the most inspiring, motivated and dedicated people I’ve met in my lifetime; The Branson Centre Entrepreneurs, Jean Oelwang (The CEO of Virgin Unite), Dr Taddy Blecher (a pioneer of the free education movement in South Africa) and of course Sir Richard himself alongside his business mogul guests.

After a long flight with the superb Virgin Atlantic, a hotel check in and a stimulating meet and greet, I accompanied Jean, the connection trip guests and the Virgin Unite team to Newtown arriving at the Sophiatown Restaurant where we were delighted by African cuisine and guest speaker Dr Taddy Blecher. Post lunch we marvelled at Inner City Craft Initiatives and met ‘Prince’ an up and coming South African jeweller who designed & created the most interesting pieces of ‘junk’ jewellery. Who can resist a bracelet made out of a fork?!

From here we crossed townships to Constitution Hill. By far one of Johannesburg’s most moving sights. Originally a fort during the Boer War it later became an infamous prison housing many of South Africa’s most well-known resistance leaders and is now home to the Constitutional Court of South Africa. After a quick change we headed off to the Orient Restaurant and chatted over exquisite Chinese food before listening to more inspiring guest speakers.

Early the next morning guests enjoyed breakfast with Sir Richard before we travelled to Mzansi Designers Studio to meet Lesego Malatsi (a previous Branson centre entrepreneur) and saw his fashion house in full swing. We were later treated to seeing his first boutique shop in Maponya Mall too. We also experienced another previous Branson Centre entrepreneurs thriving business in Diepkloof, Soweto. A recycling plant started by Tshepo Nawane.

Inspired once more by the sheer determination and drive to create employment for local communities and to start businesses from scratch, we chatted to both Lesego and Tshepo en route to the grand opening of the Virgin Active Gym in Maponya. Greeted with steel drums, stilt walkers and Sir Richard, this feast of colour and sound gave the gym opening the atmosphere it most definitely deserved.

Departing the swanky new gym we lunched at Velo and chatted with Marious Minnie, the CEO of Southpoint and a partner and investor of the Branson Centre (BC) before crossing over to the BC to offer mentoring to the current entrepreneurs.

The pièce de résistance of the day was of course the Screw Business As Usual booklaunch at ‘Randlords’ where Richard spoke about his book alongside African children’s choirs and pure cultured entertainment. You can see my video montage of the #SBAU book launch here on our YouTube page.

After supper and wine back at the hotel with Richard and guests, it was off to bed before an early start to wave off the guests, Richard and Jean to Ulusaba for the next step of their trip. You can see Richards Blog about their game drive here. I spent my last day in South Africa with some of the Virgin Media Pioneers sightseeing and taking in some of South Africa’s most beautiful animals.

THANK YOU to Virgin Unite, Sir Richard, Jean and the rest of the team for the most amazing experience of my life. A trip I will treasure in my heart forever.”

Kirsty x

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By Alex, December 7, 2011 3:13 pm

A high-flying 25-year-old has won a once-in-a-lifetime trip to South Africa with Sir Richard Branson to visit an inspirational business-led charity.

Kirsty Mills, who works at our Virgin Balloon Flights HQ in Telford, will fly out to meet the famous adventurer and businessman at The Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship in Johannesburg tomorrow (December 8).

There she will spend time with Sir Richard and learn all about the charity which was founded in 2006 by Virgin Unite – Virgin’s not-for-profit foundation – to nurture promising entrepreneurs, grow businesses and create jobs in deprived areas.

Marketing executive Kirsty is also a volunteer Virgin ‘Insider’ – one of a select band of Virgin employees tasked with making businesses a force for good from within – and won the opportunity as recognition for her work on charity projects at Virgin Balloon Flights and across the wider group.

These included a campaign which raised almost £8,000 for Hope House Children’s Hospices, a series of community events for Mandela Day and a hit squad to help children’s charity Starlight. She was also nominated for a Virgin Star of the Year Award in 2010.

On Saturday (December 9) Kirsty will also assist at the South Africa launch of Sir Richard’s new book ‘Screw Business as Usual’ – all royalties for which will go to Virgin Unite – by becoming Virgin Unite’s representative on Twitter for the day. Follow her progress @virginunite

She said: “Since joining Virgin Balloon Flights in January 2010, I have had some amazing opportunities, but going to South Africa and working with Richard will take some beating. I just can’t wait.

“The Branson Centre for Entrepreneurship is an amazing charity which is using business to make a real difference for people in deprived areas of South Africa, so it will be fantastic to visit and see for myself how it works.”

More information about Virgin Balloon Flights in Staffordshire and around the UK is available at www.virginballoonflights.co.uk

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By Alex, November 18, 2011 1:07 pm

I headed to London on Wednesday for the Virgin Social Marathon with a whopping 20 #FirstTimes still to complete in order to get the big 50 for Virgin Unite.

Thanks to the help of the brilliant Virgin Balloon Flights team, our fantastic colleagues from other Virgin businesses, wonderful customers and a large slice of luck, I did it!

I worked on a train (juice trolley duty with Virgin Trains), did a Sudoku (eventually!), went busking, roller  bladed (like Bambi on ice),  visited the Tate Modern, went on a motorbike ride (with Rhys from Virgin Limobikes), learned to make tasty Hollandaise and fed flamingos (not Hollandaise!) at the Roof Gardens, swam in a lake, had my hair coloured and eyebrows plucked, played poker (responsibly online with Virgin Games), ate dragon fruit, ate jellied eels (not recommended). Facebooked @ Facebook HQ and tweeted ‘a poem’.

A rickshaw ride and frogs legs eluded me, but were replaced with winkles and pickled herring and being an impromptu newspaper street seller. We also threw in a celebrity encounter by meeting former MP Lembit Opik of ‘I’m a Celebrity Fame’.

I finished off by telling Sir Richard Branson a joke (via Twitter) ‘What do you call a nun on a treadmill?’ A Virgin Active. He replied ‘Haha! Great effort & well done for your 50 #FirstTimes‘

What a day!

Thanks to everyone who helped with this weird and wonderful charity challenge including Facebook and Virgin.com plus all those who have sponsored me. Hopefully, we’ll creep to the £1,000 including gift aid (sponsor me here) and then it’s over to you Virgin Unite!

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By Eve, November 17, 2011 4:55 pm

The 16^th November 2011 saw the first ever global Virgin Social Marathon, a groundbreaking event that took place around the world bringing together all sorts of digital types from Virgin offices near and far all working together for a day-long event at the Facebook office in London. Starting in Australia, then over to the UK and South Africa and finally ending in LA, California at Sir Richard Branson, Eve Branson and Virgin Unite’s event Rock the Kasbah.

The aim of the day was to reach out to our fans and followers across all of our social media channels including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google+ with the theme and hashtag #FirstTimes. A fun packed and fast-typing day, we started posting and tweeting in the UK at around 6am and continued through until almost midnight.

With Mini Draws of lots of Virgin goodies up for grabs plus a Grand Prize including 2 hot air balloon rides, an Aston Martin experience day, a 1 year membership to Virgin Active, a Virgin London Marathon place and a Virgin Media TiVo box to name but a few, getting all of our social media fans entering and playing with the brand new app Virgin First Times was great fun.

In keeping with the theme #FirstTimes and to mark the the launch of the new app, we asked some of our colleagues here in the Virgin Balloon Flights office to share their ballooning first times with us.

“Describe your first balloon ride in three words?”

“What did you think of your first balloon ride?”

First Timers

We also wanted to know what our colleagues have been up to for the first time lately – here are some of their firsts:-

“Became a Dad” – Alex F, “Produced work for my very first public exhibition” – Ben H “Saw Bruno Mars in concert”- Sophie E “Bought my first home with my fiancé” – Caz S “Attended a Management Board meeting” – Ryan L “Skydive!” 10,000ft of pure nerves” – Liz M “Planning a Vegas wedding. Won a comp to go to SA with @RichardBranson” – Kirsty M

If you fancy flying in a balloon for the first time, please visit our Experience page where you can learn all about what’s involved on a Virgin Balloon Flights ballooning adventure.