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By Kirsty, February 23, 2012 6:16 pm

As part of our Green Office Plan, we here at Virgin Balloon Flights have been thinking of ways to make our lovely red company a little greener.

In our monthly internal newsletter we asked staff for easy ideas to make our business more sustainable. We had some super inventive ideas including one from Customer Service Representative Carrie-Ann Starling, who suggested we use white boards rather than notepads for our call centre staff – ingenious!!

Our shiny new white boards will save us around 150 notepads a year, that’s a huge 7,500gms of paper. Further suggestions have included bicycle parks and a car share scheme which we hope to implement in the near future.

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By Kirsty, February 22, 2012 2:50 pm

Just a few weeks ago Virgin Balloon Flights were talking to Virgin Managements’ Sustainability team and were given an excellent new idea to support up-cycling….

Made In Forest Hills, an up-cycling Bow Tie business in New York, was started not so long ago by Nicholas Tee Ruiz. His bespoke, unique and beautifully design bow ties are all made from waste material and can certainly start a trend!

Helen Craig Virgin’s sustainability specialist asked Nicholas about his inventive ideas:

What inspired you to include recycled materials into your designs? How did it all start?
I met singer Janelle Monáe in November 2010 and we chatted about her music video "Tightrope”, in which she wears this fantastic oversized bow tie.  This sparked my idea to search NYC for a unique bow tie that represented me.  Hitting dead ends, I decided to just sit down at my kitchen table and create one of my own.  That table has put up a good fight in the past year, my tools and I haven’t exactly been its best friend.  The occasion for my first bow tie was The Museum of Modern Art’s exhibition opening of Picasso: Guitars 1912-1914.  Inspired by Mr. Picasso and wanting to look sharp for the event, I hand crafted my first bow tie out of multi-coloured guitar picks, which I found buried in the closet of my uncle’s apartment, a wooden hanger, and super glue.

How did you move on from there?
My project, Made in Forest Hills started off as a sustainable way to look dapper for events at MoMA, where I work in Special Programming & Events.  The response from friends and colleagues was great, and they encouraged me to continue re-purposing everyday materials into works of wearable art.  I challenged myself to construct 11 bow ties designed around the major exhibition openings and benefit events orchestrated at the Museum that year.  These became: The Bow Tie Collection.  My bow ties were inspired by talks with curatorial colleagues, artist research, gut feelings, and my technical studies.  Benefit events allowed more freedom as I was not constrained but challenged to interpret the events in a creative way.  The pieces in the Collection range from looping film negatives with images of scenes from Pedro Almodóvar movies for MoMA’s fourth annual Film Benefit, to a LEGOS® bow tie for The Armory Show 2011 after-party, and a wine corks bow tie from the restaurants of my favourite chef, Jose Garces for the German Expressionism: The Graphic Impulse exhibition opening.  The bow ties have style and design influences from the art in the correlating exhibitions and also a sustainable aspect because all of the materials were found and recycled from my day-to-day life.  Leftover chandelier crystals from a neighbourhood lighting store became the bow tie for Party in the Garden 2011 and I even crafted computer wires, circuit boards, and a working QR code into a bow tie for Talk to Me: Design and the Communication between People and Objects.

What plans do you have for the future? What materials are you looking to re-use?
For my next Collection, I will be making 100 different bow ties constructed from fun and found resources.  I want this Collection to be participatory for the fans of my first Collection, so I’m asking people to supply me with materials that they would like to see made into a bow tie.  You hand me a box of old cocktail stirrers, you’re gonna see cocktail stirrers like never before!  I’m not giving myself rules or guidelines, I really want to push the artistic craft and hopefully educate about sustainability along the way.  I don’t want to restrict myself to a specific size, or a certain form – the sky’s the limit.  I just hope none of the submitted materials require dry ice… if so, we may need to chat.

After seeing Nicholas’ fantastic work, we decided we wanted a slice of this super cool up-cycling action so we’re sending him some fabric from a retired hot air balloon envelope. Keep your eyes peeled on our blog for the final design!

Of course this isn’t the first time we’ve done a bit of up-cycling. We previously teamed up with Worn Again to create a range of up-cycled products, including the "cheeky sling bag" which is still available to purchase on our Virgin Balloons website.

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By Kirsty, May 31, 2011 12:17 pm

We’ve been in Scotland showcasing Amnesty International’s celebratory banner on one of our lovely  hot air balloon baskets with pilot Brad Smith.

Our beautiful Perth City Centre launch site was home to our basket for the morning with Pilot Brad on hand to hand out leaflets and talk ballooning. With lots of interest from local people we met a wee Scotsman eager to see what the basket looked like.

Two year old Craig Laing, who lives in Perth, was visiting the North Inch open fields to feed the ducks with Grandma Etta Laing. We couldn’t possibly let him leave without
a miniature Virgin balloon and a certificate signed by pilot Brad and endorsed
by Sir Richard Branson.

Let’s hope the Perthshire winds don’t take Craig and his bike to the skies!

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By Kirsty, March 18, 2011 7:23 pm

Virgin Balloon Flights have joined in the red nose day fun, raising funds for Comic Relief at Balloons HQ. With a red monster poised on the nose of every employee, bags of walker’s crisps and some Comic Relief scratch cards, we had plenty of fun bringing yet more red to our brand for the day.

“Red Nose Day is a day like no other when the whole country gets  together to do something funny for money and change countless   lives in the process. It all culminates in a night of cracking TV on the BBC with some of the biggest names in comedy and entertainment. And the best bit? All the fun and mayhem helps to raise cash and transform lives across the UK and Africa.” Comic Relief.

After closely following the world record set by Chris Moyles and the team on radio 1, VBF staff got together to do their bit for the charity  and laughed a little at each other along the way. What’s more, with all the fun and games, Virgin Balloon Flights have made a small contribution to a big campaign to make a brighter future for others.

Happy Red Nose Day!

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By Kirsty, December 22, 2010 1:29 pm

So we’re just 115 days away from Sue’s 26.2 mile slog in aid of Hope House Children’s Hospices at the 2011 Virgin London Marathon and the money is starting to trickle in. Despite the bad weather Sue’s training is continuing to push her fitness levels up and she has not been put off track with her marathon preparation.

After a visit to Hope House to see how her hard work will pay off, Sue’s determination is sky high and the treadmill is feeling her feet   as a result of it. With our £10,000 target in mind, Sue explains why she is so committed to reaching it …

“Well, £10,000 will provide funding for a whole year for special group trips out for the children staying at the hospices to get to different kinds of events, to the likes of visits to the zoo and to parks.  This will also include travel to and from the

hospices and also for the nurses and carers to accompany the children on these trips. So far I have quite a lot lined up to help raise as much money as possible, and I’ve only just begun.”

To do your bit to help families make the most of the short precious lives of the children at Hope House, simply visit Sue’s fundraising page at Virgin Money Giving and keep up to date with her training and fundraising on the  Virgin Marathon Girl blog.

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By Kirsty, September 23, 2010 4:15 pm

Sustainable forestry student Tatiana Prudence Eboua – who Virgin Balloon Flights have supported with donations to the TFT’s Centre for Social Excellence in the Congo – is currently enjoying her Equatorial Forest Company (CEB) work placement in Bambidie, Gabon. There she is helping the company to manage a forest area of 600,000 hectares (that’s an area bigger than 700 football pitches!).

Tatiana’s main aim whilst on her placement is to implement plans to engage with the communities living within the concession, ensuring the company take on board all the needs of the local communities to thoroughly safeguard the future of the forest and its inhabitants.

The photograph above (left) shows Tatiana interviewing a group of local women from a forest site in East Cameroon finding out their thoughts and views on access, protection, resources and rights of the forest.

James Mudie from the TFT says there are two primary points for Tatiana to focus on during her internship: “Firstly, Tatiana will facilitate the establishment of an agricultural programme, in Ogooue-Lolo. The company, through its social forest management component, is trying to establish this community programme using their own finance loaned to the communities themselves to build a long-term sustainable business. Tatiana’s role combines fieldwork and institutional work for the Centre of Social Excellence (CSE) and she is helping the communities to decide what they want to do, whether small livestock farming, or planting cocoa or coffee.
“The other task under her responsibility is the establishment of partnerships for training local communities. She is helping them to get training and advice from local specialised organisations and other agencies that could assist in capacity building and training. Her skill in moderation and conflict management, (gained at the CSE), is enabling her to reconcile the sometimes divergent expectations of all stakeholders leading to much more successful partnerships.”

Tatiana is over half way through her placement now and has until November 2010 to meet her goal and implement the changes and relationships that are so important to the future of the forest.

We wish Tatiana the best of luck with her final few months in Gabon and look forward to congratulating her when she graduates.

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By Kirsty, August 12, 2010 10:35 am

A newlywed couple whose love is certainly sky-high celebrated
the first few days of wedded bliss with  a Virgin Balloon Flights hot air balloon ride. Lianne and Chris from Shaw, Lancashire tied the knot on Saturday the 7^th of August at ‘The Riverside’ in Rochdale where they received their ‘Celebration Package’ balloon ride vouchers as a wedding gift.

“The balloon flight was a wedding present from my Uncle John … we were overwhelmed at such a generous gift and we were so excited that we would be going in a hot air balloon!” said Lianne.

The couple who will jet off on Friday to Kuredu Island in the Maldives and then on to Dubai for their honeymoon, had both never flown in a
hot air balloon before  and were extremely eager to start their airborne adventure as husband and wife.

“Chris’ favourite part was helping the pilot and crew inflate and deflate the balloon, he helped with the crown line and ropes and the cold air inflation. My favourite was the lifting off from the ground!” she added.

Their ballooning experience was an early morning flight from York Racecourse with pilot Martin Collinson and they enjoyed around an hour in the air and a Champagne toast after landing. “We saw lots of great views; we particularly liked seeing York Minster and some beautiful houses… but also thought it was great to see the horses and other animals on the ground.”

Aboard the same flight as the happy couple was Rachel Foster from Holgate York, who celebrated her 18^th Birthday at 3000 feet in the air, seen here with her certificate signed by pilot Martin & endorsed by Sir Richard Branson! Happy birthday to Rachel from all of us here at Virgin Balloon Flights.

For your chance to celebrate in the sky aboard an iconic red Virgin balloon visit virginballoonflights.co.uk or call 01952 212750

More information about flying in Yorkshire is available here!

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By Alex, May 18, 2010 12:47 pm

The Virgin Group has published its first report on corporate responsibility and sustainable development which features some of the work we’re doing at Virgin Balloon Flights.

Virgin Group's Corporate Responsibility and Sustainable Development Report

What is it?

Well, it’s a story that highlights the enormous range of corporate responsibility and sustainability issues the Virgin companies face operating in so many different sectors, and what we’re doing about them. Usually reports like this can be pretty dull and not many people read them so instead, we’ve put the customer at the centre of the story to make it more relevant to the reader. We’ve described different aspects of our customers’ lifestyles and the sustainability issues associated.

Where does Virgin Balloon Flights fit in?

We’re proud that what we do puts smiles on people’s faces, makes dreams come true and contributes to the well-being of thousands of airborne adventurers each year.  However we know we need to do much more by considering the wider impact we have on people and our planet. We are at an early stage of this journey but we are committed to taking practical steps towards a more sustainable future and doing business like there is a tomorrow.

Read the Relax and have fun and chapter to find about the exciting work we’ve been doing with The Forest Trust (TFT) and Worn Again plus what  others like Virgin Wines, Virgin Media and Virgin Books have been up to.

Other things we’ve done at Virgin Balloon Flights  include:

In 2009 we switched our balloon flight vouchers, gift wallets, souvenir brochures, envelopes, letter heads and compliments slips to FSC accredited 100% recycled paper and card.

So far in 2010 we’ve raised nearly £1,000 for charities including Virgin Unite, MacMillan and the British Heart Foundation and donated balloon trips to be auctioned for other good causes.

You can also check out the latest stories about things we’ve been doing for charity and for the environment.

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By Kirsty, May 17, 2010 3:40 pm

Tatiana (left) and her Mother at DESS graduation

Virgin Balloon Flights is delighted to introduce Tatiana Prudence Eboua  a new sustainable forestry student at the TFT Centre of Social Excellence and the second person we have sponsored.

Following Raphael Tsanga’s recent graduation, 30-year-old Tatiana is hoping to follow in his footsteps at the centre in the Congo Basin and to help protect the tropical forest in the future

Just a few  weeks ago our eager new scholar, from Libreville, Gabon, started her course after making it through a vigorous interview process. Already the proud possessor of a Masters Degree in Anthropology and a Post Masters specialisation in ‘Economy & Sustainable Forest with Environmental Resource Management,’ Tatiana believes the CSE can aid “…a solution to the problem of environmental degradation and allow the populations in the country to have a better quality of life.”

Arriving at CSE

Here at Virgin Balloon Flights we believe in supporting the forests alongside the wellbeing of real people in developing countries to enable education and therefore conservation of our natural world. Since 2009 we have been donating £1 for every ton of carbon our business created annually to the TFT’s Climate Tree Initiative choosing specifically to support the CSE project.

Tatiana is confident she will gain the qualifications through the CSE to successfully help manage forest economic objectives as well as ensuring health and safety and cohabitation are significantly improved.

“When I join active work life, I would like to evolve in a setting allowing me to stay in contact with humans and nature, and the training at the CSE offers me this opportunity. I want to be a social officer, to

Off to fetch water, a reality of life at the CSE

help the promotion of an improved cohabitation between the different stakeholders, implicated in forest management and conservation (governments, companies, workers, populations) with the main objective for respect and acknowledgments of principles, criteria, indicators and social, environmental as well as economic objectives of forest management”

“My message to Virgin … in helping the CSE, it is humanity as a whole that you are preserving. Thank you.”

We look forward to keeping you up to date with Tatiana’s progress through her classroom and work based study over the forthcoming months!