A hot air balloon company is offering couples the chance to join the Mile High Club including a privacy screen and music – but the flight tickets do not come cheap
A hot air balloon company is encouraging passengers to join the Mile High Club.
A California-based hot air balloon company is offering mile high flights over the Temecula countryside. Guest wills be able to enjoy views over the landscape., with the whole basket to themselves. However, there is a small catch – they’re not alone.
The basket does include a privacy screen to separate the pilot compartment from the passenger cabin, and the pilot will wear protective hearing gear. They remain solely focused on flying the balloon to around 1,610 metres, which is around 610 metres above the average recreational flight. However, they are very much present.
Magical Adventure Balloon Rides is inviting couples to bring their own bedding and music playlist on the flight and is offering them a complimentary Champagne breakfast.
Pricing for two passengers starts at $1,400 (£1,130.85) or alternatively you can fly in a larger 10-person basket and add additional people for $159 (£128.43) each. Magical Adventure Rides pilot Denni Barrett said: “What happens in the basket stays in the basket… Somebody who operated a drone from a distance sent me a picture and said, ‘Hey, we’re just kind of curious, what was going on there?
“If somebody has a fantasy about having outdoor sex, then this would certainly check that box,” he added, reports Thrillist. “For the pilots, it’s all business. We’re focusing on navigation, flying, and trying to stay away from other balloons so that they don’t have any spectators.”
Denni explained that the hot air balloon rides make great conversation pieces even if the passengers did not do anything whilst in the air. He has even had nudists buy the package, in order that they can be with nature, naked and in the open air.
Denni has been working with the company since 2000 and initially found that the Mile High customers were more often older couples. However, with time, the clientele has changed to include younger, “extremely fit or alternative lifestyle” passengers and “now there’s a lot of same-sex guests.”
When in the air, Denni will give the couple a 15, 10 and five minute warning before the hot air balloon starts to descend. Once airborne, the flight lasts for around an hour, and the air the pilot will pull across a privacy screen, pop on noise-cancelling headphones, and provide the couple with a Bluetooth speaker.
The flight package also comes with a commemorative certificate and a pin that says they are a member of the Mile High Club. The balloon will only fly when weather conditions are right, so if there is any adverse weather or strong winds, it won’t go ahead.
Away from the company’s Mile High offering, its other hot air balloon rides are rather traditional and include wine tours and company picnics.
