Many of us in childhood dreamed of being able to fly like birds, and some subsequently made our dreams come true. Hot air ballooning is an unusual entertainment that gives people vivid emotions and unforgettable impressions for life. However, is it possible to turn this “air attraction” into a profitable business?
On the one hand, this type of earnings seems almost a win-win option. The idea is quite simple to implement. Aeronautical trips attract the attention of not only avid athletes, but also people who are very far from this, who just want to experience strong, but at the same time pleasant experiences at least once in their life. They will never dare to jump with a parachute, but not against a comfortable and, most importantly, safe rest in the sky. A standard balloon flight takes about one hour. It passes at an altitude of 300 to 900 meters. Pleasure is not cheap, but even people with an average income can easily afford one air walk on a solemn occasion - from an offer of a hand and a heart to celebrating a birthday. This entertainment is available to both young people and the elderly (unlike the same extreme sports). A flight certificate is a wonderful and unforgettable gift for any occasion.
For these reasons, balloon flights are considered a good source of income. Their main advantage is high demand with a low level of competition. However, this has a flip side: in this market there is no place for several players at once. Whoever has the first time is the winner. He can independently determine pricing policy, reducing the payback period of his project. Latecomers can expect to occupy a certain place in this market only if they are able to offer an alternative option with similar quality, but at a significantly lower price (but dumping is not the best option), or if they significantly expand the range of services offered, and this, in turn, is associated with impressive costs. True, pioneers have a hard time. The entertainment flight industry is not yet sufficiently developed in our country. Demand for such services is certainly present, but most of your potential customers are not even aware of their existence. You will have to invest a lot in advertising and, more importantly, in promoting events such as aerostat flights.
Another feature of this business is the limitation on the number of flights per balloon. One balloon can make two flights a day - in the morning after sunrise (from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. in the summer) and in the evening (from 18 to 20 a.m.). In winter, flights are carried out only in the morning. Such restrictions are caused by the appearance of air currents from solar activity, so in the daytime aerostats do not rise into the air. In strong winds (over 4-5 m / s) flights are also not carried out.
There is also a time limit for one flight. One flight directly in the air, indeed, takes an hour. During this time, depending on weather conditions, the balloon flies from 5 to 20 km. However, gathering, briefing and other preparatory activities (for example, for beginners a solemn ceremony of initiation into balloonists can take place) sometimes takes up to 3-4 hours, but it takes half as much time to equip a balloon and fly - 1.5-2 hours.
The balloon capacity depends on the parameters of the basket. Four people can fit in a standard basket, one of which is an instructor. An average balloon can make an average of 100 flights per year. That is, with a full load, it will be 300 passengers in 12 months. The cost of the flight is from 10 thousand rubles per person and above (up to 25-30 thousand rubles). The exact price depends on the city, population, average wage, balloon status, air tour program and other factors.
We proceed directly to the organization of balloon flights. First of all, a manned hot air balloon is required - the biggest expense in this beautiful, but difficult business. A balloon consists of two main parts - a dome (or a ball, as it is commonly used) and a gondola (that is, a basket). In turn, the dome consists of a shell with power tapes, a spreading sheet that protects the grass around the ball from ignition during take-off, a block of gas burners, an engine, a fan, a control hitch block, a tether. The bag may also include a bag for the shell of the ball, but if you purchase an inexpensive model, then the bag will most likely have to be bought separately. The gondola comes with a basket, a cover for it, racks and covers for racks, a technological sleeve and a belt for attaching cylinders.
Determining the price order for all this equipment is quite difficult. The scatter can be significant. The simplest small balloon can be purchased for 300-350 thousand rubles (this is the cost of a balloon with a shell volume of 650 cubic cm and with 20 vertical shares). Standard models, designed for eight passengers plus a pilot, will cost about one million rubles. This is the cost of a balloon in a complete set, but without spare parts. Spare parts should also be taken care of in advance, especially if you are taking an inexpensive balloon.
The total cost of the balloon is the sum of the cost of individual components. Consider what the price of a good balloon consists of. The balloon is made of durable fabric such as polyester or polyamide. The fabric is used special - very dense and high quality. Such fabrics are produced in Germany, Great Britain (for example, Carrington Manufacturing Co.), USA, South Africa (for example, Gelvenor Textiles) and South Korea. The cheapest is a South Korean fabric impregnated with silicone or polyurethane. A shell of such a fabric can withstand from 250 kg to 500 kg. In the first case, sewing will cost $ 9000, and in the second - $ 12000. For comparison, American-made fabric with a nomex skirt will cost $ 13, 000 (maximum load weight up to 270 kg) and up to $ 15, 000 (maximum load weight - up to 500 kg). However, these prices are not final. They can vary depending on the number of shares at the dome, the type of firmware, additional applications. Shells can be made as an eight-lobed, twelve-lobed or sixteen-lobed pattern, and can consist of 20 and even 24 vertical shares.
In addition, advertising banners or logos are often placed on the dome of the balloon, which increases its cost by 40-50%. Bags for the shell are made of PVC fabric (up to $ 250) or vinyl (up to $ 200). The spreading sheet costs about $ 600. A single phase gas burner unit costs over $ 4, 000. A 40 liter aluminum alloy gas cylinder will cost $ 700, and a stainless alloy gas bottle is 40-50% more expensive. The volume of the cylinder can be from 40 to 60 liters. A fan with an engine costs about $ 1, 400, and an electronic halyard control unit costs over $ 300. The latter allows you to control the balloon on autopilot. A halyard made of heat-resistant material from 10 to 50 meters in length costs from $ 45 to $ 150, respectively. Thus, only the shell of the balloon in this configuration will cost at least $ 22, 000. Its service life is 400 flight hours.
The cost of a balloon basket depends on its capacity and the material from which it is made. A model with genuine leather handrails for 4-7 people will cost $ 1, 500. And a rattan bar basket with trim that looks particularly impressive costs over $ 2, 500. There are more expensive models, for example, with a transparent bottom, through which a breathtaking sight opens. The protective panel will cost another $ 150, a cover for the gondola - up to $ 150, polyamide stands with covers - about $ 300, a technological sleeve - up to $ 150. These are the main costs of buying a balloon. Total, one basket will cost, on average, 150 thousand rubles. Another 5, 000 rubles will be needed to purchase a first-aid kit, fire extinguisher, carbine and balloon release mechanism. You can also purchase individual components, spare parts, flight and navigation equipment, radio stations with an aviation frequency range, etc.
You can buy a balloon in our country. The production time for one balloon is from 30 to 50 working days, depending on the model and complexity of the form. Add to this about a month for the delivery of fabrics from the manufacturer, if the fabric you are interested in is not in the manufacturer’s warehouse.
When buying a balloon, check with the manufacturer for all the necessary permissions and licenses. The set of documents that you will receive with the balloon should include certified copies of the licenses for the right to develop and manufacture aeronautical equipment of the aerostat manufacturer; a certified copy of the aircraft type certificate (type certificate; temporary certificate of airworthiness issued by an independent inspection of the Air Register; permanent certificate of airworthiness; certificate of state registration. Please note: certification of balloons is carried out in accordance with the Federal Aviation Rules (FAP) “Regulation on the Procedure admission to operation of single copies of general aviation aircraft ”, approved by order of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation No. 118 of April 17, 2003 You will need to issue a certificate of ownership of your aerostat, certificates of registration of your aerostat in the state register of aircraft of the Russian Academy of Public Aviation and certificate of airworthiness of a single instance of an aircraft (EEU). For an additional fee, the aerostat manufacturer can take on all the registration on you all aerostat registration documents.
To transport a small balloon and fuel to it, you need a regular car, for models of larger size and capacity you will have to purchase a car with a trailer. Ideally, you should also think about buying a minibus to deliver customers to the place of flight and pick them up at the place of landing of the aerostat (plus 1.2 million rubles plus driver’s salary - from 25 thousand rubles, depending on the region and workload). However, at the beginning of the work you can just rent a minibus.
A separate item of expenses is pilot training. Only a specially trained person with a state-issued pilot certificate is entitled to operate the balloon. The cost of training for a pilot is about 170 thousand rubles. It’s better at least for the first time that the pilot functions are performed by you. Finding an experienced pilot with the relevant documents will not be easy, especially if your city does not have extreme sports organizations or aeronautics clubs. Training is quite expensive and lengthy (it takes about six months). However, it will also take several months to obtain the documents and permits necessary for flying.
In addition, it is necessary to choose a suitable place for flights and coordinate it with local authorities. Finding a place is also a rather lengthy procedure, which can take from several days to several months. On the one hand, this place should be picturesque with a beautiful view of the surroundings. On the other hand, good roads should lead to it (so that they could reach the destination even in bad weather or in winter). Thirdly, ideally, your balloon in the sky should be visible from the city or its environs. Indeed, a balloon with your logo on the dome in itself will be an excellent advertisement for your services and will attract new customers to you.
At first, you can work without your own office. Take care of a beautiful and memorable phone number (preferably multi-channel) so that everyone can easily get through to you, get detailed information about the service and book a flight. In the future, experts recommend still renting an office space in the city, where you can see booklets and examples of photo shoots, place an order, make an advance payment and receive a gift certificate. Hot air ballooning is not an expensive pleasure, so try to ensure that the level of your service matches your prices.
A lot of money will go to advertising balloon flights. Use for this all the possibilities in accordance with your budget - from placing a logo with the name of your company on your balloon to advertising articles in the media and your own website on the Internet. Create groups on social networks, post your photos and reviews of your customers there, publish reports and interesting articles on the topic of aerostat flights on your website, and advertise on regional sites and forums. A lot of money for such a promotion is not needed. But you will have to spend a lot of your own time and energy, although all this will definitely pay off.
Organizational issues deserve special attention. Ballooning is far from an ordinary event. People will agree to pay several thousand rubles and even recommend you to their friends and acquaintances only if they receive a little more for this money than they originally expected. To do this, you need to be not just an organizer, but also an animator. Create a special festive atmosphere, do not skimp on refreshments (for example, you can offer sweets to your customers), come up with souvenirs that can be handed out or sold after the flight. But everything should be in moderation: alcohol during the flight is completely prohibited. As additional services, you can arrange tethered flights at any celebration. In this case, the ball is tied with a rope to the support and rises only to a small height. You can also arrange themed photo shoots in a balloon and even hold weddings in the sky. Remember that you are selling not just hot air balloon flights, but wonderful emotions and vivid impressions.
As we mentioned above, the balloon dome is an ideal advertising platform. You can advertise both yourself and other companies. On the shell of some balloons, you can even place full-fledged advertising banners (on large balloons, their area can be about 300 square meters!).
According to the entrepreneurs themselves, the annual revenue in this business is at least 1.2 million rubles. The minimum cost of organizing such a business is the purchase of the balloon itself and the preparation of all necessary documents. Consider also the need to change the balloon dome every 400 hours of flight. Additional costs - aircraft maintenance (regular service inspections) and the replacement of components that fail. Also lay the costs of pilot training (provided that you are the pilot, you can save on wages).
Suppose your balloon load is one hundred people per year. You can offer two main types of services - hot air balloon flights (the cost of such a flight is 15-25 thousand rubles, depending on the program) and tethered flights with hourly pay (from 15 thousand rubles for lifting up to thirty people per hour). An additional source of income is photo shoots and advertising. Potential revenue can range from 1.5 to 4 million rubles per year, depending on the region, program, balloon model and other factors.
The payback period of such a business project is estimated at least a year. In the future, you will have to invest about 500-600 thousand rubles annually in shell replacement, burner repairs, cylinder replacement, car maintenance plus advertising costs (the size of advertising costs in this case will be difficult to calculate, as part may be paid, for example, by barter).
As a further development and expansion of the business, it will be possible to either build your own network: purchase additional balloons and work for several regions, or open your own air sports club and offer additional services - from paragliding to parachuting.
Finally, a few words about security. Ballooning is still an extreme sport, although it is the least dangerous of other types of aeronautical trips. The most common cause of accidents is a malfunction of the aerostat's fuel system, which delivers gas that heats the air to fill the ball. With uncontrolled burning, there is a high risk of fire of the apparatus, which even with small damage easily loses control. In 99% of cases, the blame lies with the owners of the balloons, who use old equipment in order to save as much as possible. If you care about your reputation, if you count on long-term work, plan to cooperate with travel companies and event agencies, if you are just a responsible person, monitor the state of your hot air balloon, regularly undergo technical inspections and, if you suspect a malfunction, contact specialists to check and fix the problem.
Sysoeva Liliya (c) www.clogicsecure.com - a portal to small business business plans and guides08/18/2019