I have flown twice since this summer with A & A Ballooning. Andre and his crew are awesome. I was lucky with two beautiful mornings. The flights and landings were smooth. The views with summer greenery and fall foliage. I have learned so much about ballooning from Andre and his many followers known as the "crew". Thanks Karen W read more

My husband and I surprised my mother-in-law with a ride today to celebrate her 80th birthday. Andre and the crew arrived promptly at 5:30 AM at the meeting location. We were able to view and help with the balloon set up and breakdown. There was a child under 10 on our ride with us and she was a bit nervous. Andre cooled her nerves and at the end she said she wanted to do another hot air balloon ride with him. The experience was stunning and the take off and landing were flawless. We enjoyed the champagne and cheese toast as well! Andre's a great communicator and I'd recommend choosing this crew for any hot air balloon adventure. Also, one of Andre's trainees was doing his first solo today. It seems like he has trained everyone in the area. If you ever want to get into ballooning, he seems to be the guy! read more

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Just amazing. I was afraid of heights forever. The ballon ride changed everything. It was calm, we could hear the animals below us. The sunrise was gorgeous and Mr. Boucher our balloon pilot and his humor really made it a special occasion. Thank you! read more

Wow! Thank you Andre, Jason, Denise and your entire team! Absolutely a once and a lifetime experience in its purest form of aviation. Each and every one of them were welcoming warm and their passion for flying was apparent, I only hope that when I'm Andre's age I'll have half the wisdom and the same positive outlook on life that he does. I promise my husband and I will be back! read more

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This was my first experience in a balloon ride with A&A Balloon Rides of Derry, NH. The cost, $200.00 The first 2 dates were cancelled because of poor weather conditions. The first one on 9/11/2013 because the winds were greater than the allowed 5mph (they were 7mph) and the second one on 9/23/2013 was cancelled because of ground fog. Finally on 9/25/2013 at 6 AM I met Andre (A&A) at a business plaza on Rt 111 and Ermer Rd., Salem, NH. There were two other balloon companies there waiting for their clients. When our group gathered, we all jumped in the van. The driver drove us to the launch site, which was in the back of the Wal-Mart Super Center on North Broadway (Rt. 28) in Salem, NH. Once at the site, preparation took approximately 45 minutes. My wife who did not join me for the flight was on the ground taking photo's while I took the photos in flight. We all climbed in the basket, 7 adults, 1 crew member and the pilot, Andre (Total of 9 Adults.) Also in the basket were 2 propane tanks. Visualize a can of sardines, that's how close we were to one another. I could barely turn 180 degrees when I wanted to take pictures. Launch was at 06:57:09 Time stamped photo Landing was at 07:24:41 Time stamped photo Total Flight Time: 28 minutes ( + - ) I was told that the balloon was over 100' in height. But we who were in the basket never were higher than 175' I kept asking Andre how high are we? He looked at his Altimeter and said at different times, 150', 125'. 175' then we descended on a pond maybe 25' I asked him why we were flying so low? and he said, if we were any higher, the winds would be stronger and the flight shorter. Well here is my rub. When I went on this flight, I expected to soar to a 1000' or greater and the flight to last more than 28 minutes. For a $200.00, this experience was worthless. The "Top of the Pru" (Prudential) in Boston is higher at 749' My complaint for this experience was never resolved. I was told I could not get a refund because Andre met his obligation by providing me a ride that lasted more than 50 minutes and rose to an altitude of 500' to 1500' His word against mine. And yet I have time stamped photo's and my wife as another witness. Moral of this story, if you want to go on a balloon ride, check out the companies before hand, read the reviews and most importantly, "Ask Questions: How long, How high, How many people in the basket etc." read more

What a nightmare. 2 weeks ago, I called this Company to book an AM ride to propose to my girlfriend. They gave me a price of $200.00 per person. Today a called to confirm the details for the 9/7/13 AM ride, and the woman (who booked me the first time) stated that the pilot was out that week, so she never would have booked me a ride on that date. I called High 5 Ballooning and explained my dilemma. High 5 indicated that they were fully booked, but that they are not surprised the A&A did this too me, apparently, A&A does this sort of thing all the time. He said that someone probably booked a ride for more people at a higher price and that they cancelled my reservation. This is so terrible. read more

We had a pleasant ride in Andre's balloon earlier this year (after two weather-related cancellations.) The crew seemed competent, and we always felt safe in our short (30 minute) flight, even though 9 of us were squeezed into the basket. Perhaps it is the two (non-flight) fires he has had in the last couple of years, but Andre did not seem particularly passionate about flying anymore. There was not much explanation of the process or location; the after flight champagne toast seemed canned. From having met pilots of Infinity and Beyond and High 5 balloning, I would give one of them a try the next time around. One word of caution for Groupon users: Andre did initially intentionally mislead me on his availability. When I called early summer to book an autumn ride, he told me he was all booked up, so I chose the latest date in August that he said he still had open. When that date got cancelled due to weather, the truth came out: he was saving the autumn flights for full-fare customers. After trying for a September date (another weather cancellation), we flew in early October -prime leaf peeping season. read more

Went up this morning as a surprise for my husband's birthday. Andre was our pilot and his sons Carl and Jason helped out and chased us. It was fantastic! The three men were great. We had a wonderful time. Wonderful views. And a fun little champagne toast at the end with some snacks. Highly recommend! read more

We just finished our first balloon ride with A&A and it was an amazing time. The pilot, Andre, would spin the balloon around so that everyone got a 360 degree view of the area as he pointed out different landmarks. He dropped to just a few above the stream so that we could see our reflection in the water. During the champagne toast at the end, he gave us a brief history of ballooning and shared some of his experiences. I would recommend him to anyone wishing to take a balloon ride. read more

I bought a Groupon for the Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Ride, and my boyfriend and I LOVED it! Andre and his crew were very friendly, informative, fun and accommodating! The ride itself was about an hour long, which was plenty of time to get a full experience and take in some great scenic views. There were 3 other couples that rode along with us, and space wise it was comfortable (the basket holds more than you would think). The champagne toast at the end of the ride was a nice time to recap how great the experience was! I would definitely do this again! Recommendation: Bring long pants and a sweatshirt because it's a bit chilly during that time of the morning! Also, be prepared to be asked to help get the balloon unraveled and blown up. You don't have to help, but it's a fun learning and since the crew workers are all volunteers, it helps them out too! read more

My wife surprised me with this for my 60th bday today. We've been touring New England. Gotta say, I've always wanted to do this. It was incredible. And beautiful...peaceful. Andre and his crew are pros. Highly recommended read more

We had an amazing time with Andre and his crew! Quick tips: Plan early, Check wind speeds before you plan your flight, dress in layers for the sunrise flight and wear comfortable shoes! After reading reviews here and hearing what other passengers had to say, I think we were quite lucky in being able to fly on our first try. They do recommend sunrise flights over sunset flights and if the winds are stronger than 5 mph, they will not fly! This is for safety reasons as with hot air balloons you cannot steer. After we booked our flight, Andre did call us the evening before to reconfirm based on updated weather forecasts. If you have a Groupon (which we did) plan early! We did an early morning weekday flight as weekends were all booked. I take one star off, because I felt they weren't very responsive on email, it was quicker to call. Other than that, I was satisfied with the reservation process. On the day of the flight we were asked to meet up in a parking lot. There are two other companies that organize balloon flights (Andre's son owns one of them!). There is a briefing after which they take you to the launch site. The balloon gets set up and you can help too! Andre and his crew were extremely friendly and did take plenty of photographs for the passengers (as well as suggest photo opportunities) The flight itself was very smooth and definitely an experience to be had! Andre pointed out several landmarks and was quick to answer any questions that we had. I would definitely recommend! read more

This was a birthday present to my fiancée. If you're set on going on a particular day, don't be, because the weather tends to get in the way-- we had to reschedule a handful of times. Obviously this isn't A&A Ballon Rides's fault, but it's something to keep in mind! As for the balloon ride itself, it was absolutely wonderful. There were eight of us onboard and it was surprisingly non-claustrophobic. Flying over the trees and ponds in New Hampshire was the best view I could have asked for. Andre and the rest of the crew were so friendly and kind. My mother was worried about the safety factor, but even as someone a little afraid of heights I didn't feel uncomfortable at all. This is definitely a great couples or family event; I'd recommend it to anyone! read more

We went up on our third try. They won't take the balloon up if the winds aren't favorable, a safety precaution I'll happily take. Andre and his crew are competent and friendly and it was fun watching how they put the balloon together and they have the passengers help they break it down at the end. The flight itself was a little under and hour and it was absolutely beautiful. I loved seeing the sunrise this way and the scenery is great. If you're doing a sunrise flight, dress in layers as it was a little chilly at first and if you don't have much hair (like me) make sure you have something to cover your head. When Andre shoots the fire off periodically it's really hot on the top of the head. After getting back to our starting point we had a champagne toast to celebrate. I highly recommend this. read more

Well, I don't know why my first review (which (I'm editing here) was "filtered". That's just wrong (please note that all of the filtered reviews, at this point, are positive). I'm simply a very satisfied customer, and so I'm going to make this edited review rather bland so as to hopefully not be perceived as fake and get it pulled out of "filtered". It was a great experience. Andre is enthusiastic and fun, as are those on his crew. We helped to set up and ready the balloon, and break down at the end. The flight was great fun and informative. I was impressed with this company every step of the way - from scheduling, confirming, and experiencing. Superb. Thank you. read more

My boyfriend and I purchased a Groupon for A & A balloon rides. We were very excited because this is something we have always wanted to do. We booked the balloon ride twice. Both times we got up at 3:30 am drove from Boston to Salem, NH to arrive at 5:00 am ready to go. Due to the weather, we were turned away. Our Groupon is about to expire and A & A balloon rides will NOT honor the Groupon and were not willing to work with us to schedule another date. The women was rude and placed the blame on us, even when I explained that we have made multiple efforts to be there. The only solution was for us to book a flight during the week, but like most people we work full time. I would strongly encourage going somewhere else and giving another hot air balloon company your business because this company does not value the customer. read more

My boyfriend took me on this a hot air balloon ride for my 50th Birthday present. Andre wasn't feeling well so his son Jason took us up in his balloon and Andre chased us. It was truly amazing. It was so beautiful floating in the air. We went up the same time as high five ballooning so we could take pictures of each other in the air. That was pretty cool. We felt very safe and comfortable. We felt like we knew them forever that's how comfortable they made us feel. Great conversation and funny stories. You need to be very flexible and understanding to go ballooning. The winds need to be 5mph or less to fly and the weather reports aren't always correct. Expect to get rescheduled. Maybe even several times. Wouldn't you want them to be safe rather than flying in dangerous winds? We really appreciated that safety always comes first. We started with perfect winds but about 20 minutes into it we ran into strong winds. Jason landed us safely in a big beautiful yard . It was a very soft landing...impressive. Our balloon as well as high five's balloon landed in somebodies yard so both pilots knocked on the door shook his hand and gave him a bottle of champagne. It was a very nice gesture and I am sure the owner was thrilled to have 2 balloons land on his lawn as he came out and took pictures of us. Our ride wasn't even close to an hour because of the unexpected winds and no other place to land in the direction we were headed so they offered us a very nice discount to go up again. We will be taking them up on that offer. Maybe in the fall with the beautiful leaves or even winter with the snow on the ground. I would highly recommend you put this on your bucket list. It is an experience you will never forget. read more

I am terrified of heights, so buying a ticket for a balloon ride was a BIG deal for me. I was hesitant to go ahead with it and asked Denise, who works for the company, if I could come and see the balloon in person and see how high up the basket goes on me, before I bought my ticket. She was happy to show me the balloon and I was thrilled that it came up to my chest (I am 5'4"), so I bought the ticket. (BTW, they have a newer and very beautiful balloon, but the basket is much lower.) The crew was great and very friendly, and Andre, the pilot/owner was very friendly as well. The actual ride was 45 minutes (I wish it was longer!) and although I was terrified out of my mind for the 1st 8 minutes, after that, I was at peace. The ride was beautiful, and we flew over lots of lakes and ponds in the Salem area. We had a smooth landing in Atkinson and afterwards we had champagne, cheese and crackers. We also got a couple of little take-home gifts which I think was a wonderful touch! I would definitely book another ride with A&A again, and am planning on taking my 11 year old daughter in the fall. read more

Having read mixed reviews beforehand, I was cautiously optimistic about this experience. It turns out that any concern I had was unnecessary. The entire experience was delightful. Andre is friendly and professional, as are his staff. If you have not experienced a hot air balloon, don't hesitate. It is great fun, not at all scary and totally memorable. Andre at A & A Balloons is your guy. Happy flying! read more

A beautiful, peaceful, and lovely trip! We loved soaring above the tree tops and especially loved the opportunity to help assemble and disassemble the balloon. Andre and the crew were so kind and friendly, more than willing to answer questions and very upbeat, considering how early it was (we met at 4:45 am for a sunrise ride)! Their love for ballooning was evident and infectious. Highly recommended- we are hoping to go again sometime! read more

It was a fun morning. The crew of the balloon were very nice and helpful, encouraging those that wanted to help out to do so, and taking on the more difficult tasks themselves. Setting up the balloon was impressive, and the flight was quick as the wind picked up and we were moving along. Andre was an excellent pilot, I still have no idea how he put the balloon down in so small a spot, but it was an excellent landing given the speed of the wind. After packing the balloon we had some snacks and Andre told stories and in general capped off a fun morning. read more

The balloon ride was a birthday gift from my girlfriend. I have been a pilot for over 37 years and flown everything from gliders to F-16s and airliners ... this was my first flight in a balloon. Andre and his crew did a fantastic job making this a wonderful experience! I was very impressed by Andre's attention to detail and safety. I would highly recommended A&A to anyone considering a balloon flight. read more