istanbul Balloons — Local services in Göreme

The BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT of my trip — I missed the iconic hot air balloon ride in Cappadocia

Here is what happened:

I had booked my flight for June 12th in Göreme with Istanbul Balloons and woke up at 4 AM, excited for what was supposed to be one of the highlights of the trip!

When we arrived at the site, the group was gathered near a balloon for a light breakfast. A few minutes later, one of the staff members (the driver) came over and told me I was in the wrong balloon, then moved me to another one — the same balloon I had already noticed was having trouble inflating (see 1st photo with the red car where the balloon couldn’t inflate)…

At that point, I didn’t fully understand what was going on. I wasn’t aware of any issue yet. The most absurd part? He moved other 3 people into the balloon I had originally been assigned to (I saw the guy taking the people to the original balloon I was assigned to).

It all felt off, so I started asking questions to the pilots / staff nearby (they were all very rude and unprepared to provide a good customer service and communication). The answers came through Google Translate, since almost no one spoke English. They finally said there had been a mistake with the operation. Then came the real news: the flight was canceled because the balloon had a tear.

I was sad and frustrated. They pulled me out of the original balloon I had assigned to, gave my spot to other people, and now the flight was cancelled. 🤯

Then the stalling began: “We’re getting another balloon,” “It’ll take 10 minutes,” then “30 minutes”, “if you don’t want to fly, don’t fly, we will give your money back”… Meanwhile, the sky was already full of balloons and the sun was rising. The magic of that moment was gone.

I told them I didn’t want to fly anymore. I wanted to go back to the hotel and get my money back. Luckily, I had one more day in town, so I just had to switch providers. But what if I didn’t have another day?? Give the money back is easy, how about the time? How about the other people who missed that magical moment?

I also felt bad for the people who eventually went up in that replacement balloon (last photo). It took off completely alone, more than an hour after the others, and they missed the sunrise too.

Istanbul Balloons failed in ethics, professionalism, and communication. I do not recommend...

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