OK, I guess that this is my 'right to reply'. As a director of the slated company, we have been operating for 8 years, providing balloon flights to many thousands of people across the country. It is inevitable that flights get cancelled here in Ireland, due to the weather and, in particular, last summer and this summer, where we have had the worst summers on record. Like most activities, our vouchers have an expiry date, but, in every case, where people have made the effort to book onto flights that have been cancelled, we have extended their vouchers into the following season, free-of-charge.
The main problem is that people do not generally read Terms and Conditions that are provided when purchasing vouchers. There are obligations for us to the consumer as there are also obligations on the voucher holder to us. These are all fairly simple i.e. book a first date within 3 months of getting the voucher (to avoid the numerous calls we get in September, at the end of our season, asking when they can use the voucher they were given the previous Christmas) and to reschedule back in promptly after a cancelled flight. Many people, like the original poster, are expecting us to chase the customer to get them to re-arrange their flights!!
The T&C's also clearly state that, should the voucher holder not agree to any of the content, they can return their vouchers for an immediate full refund.
As for Joe Duffy, it was myself that he 'interviewed' on his show (I use the quotes, as 'interview', in the common sense, involves two parties making their points). His main beef was regarding vouchers having an expiry date. He was expecting me to answer for the whole voucher industry, when the likes of the An Post Gift Voucher Shop, Top Gifts etc, who sell infinitely more vouchers than we do, were not invited to explain their procedures. As I stated at the time, we do not expire vouchers for those who have booked onto flights. His second whinge was about the amount of money that we take, up front, for flights. In the majority of cases, where people buy vouchers for themselves and a partner, they only pay a deposit and pay the remainder on the day of the flight. No other voucher companies, to my knowledge, offer that option.
The initial poster is correct, however, stating that we do not offer refunds simply because of weather cancellations. We do, however, extend the vouchers, without cost, into the following season, despite being under no legal obligation to do so.
Taking a hot air balloon flight in Ireland is always going to be subject to suitable weather conditions. We are not in continental Europe where we can fly 200+ days of the year. Most people are patient enough to wait for that good weather slot and everyone thoroughly enjoys the experience and confirms that is really is worth the wait.
Malcolm.
