Hot-air expansion planned for skies above Mandalay

 

The executive in charge of the Mandalay branch of Oriental Ballooning said balloon rides over Mandalay were set to begin in the first week of November, though he admitted the branch opened last October. Business has been slower to take off in Myanmar’s second-largest city than it did in Bagan, he said.

“Bagan is the major destination for hot-air balloon rides,” the executive admitted, saying that so far interest in ballooning over Mandalay had been weak. He expressed confidence, however, that it would expand. 

The balloons will rise from Chan Mya Thazi airport and each ride will take about one hour and cost US$380 per person. Oriental Ballooning has also launched a campaign to promote the service ahead of the beginning of the high season for tourism, which starts next month. Passengers receive tea, coffee and snacks before the flight, fruit to munch on while gazing at the city below them, and a glass of sparkling wine after landing, according to the company’s website.

Numerous companies have launched hot-air balloon rides in Myanmar, with the first one starting in Bagan in 1999, which draws the lion’s share of the business and has several companies competing for customers. It has been alleged that some journalists took bribes to profile these services in local English language print media after competition between companies heated up.