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Privacy Policy 2023

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Terms and Conditions

GENERAL FINANCIAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

BILL HARROP’S “ORIGINAL” BALLOON SAFARIS (PTY) LTD.

As from 1st April 2018

  1. Our Quoted Rates Include VAT at the CURRENT RATE of 15% and may be commissionable to approved, bona fide Travel Agents, Tour Operators and Conference Organisers at confidential contracted percentages.If any element of the tour is cancelled by the passenger or agent, or if a participant does not arrive at the agreed location at the specified time to take up any particular element of a booking, that element will also be considered as “cancelled by the passenger” and any pre-payment will be forfeited.
  2. If the flight is cancelled by us for safety reasons (such as bad weather) conditions applicable to the specific package will apply.
  3. Pilots will always endeavour to conduct flights for the full duration as published, subject to a paramount consideration for safety as well as passenger comfort and convenience, respect for the community and environment in general, but a duration of 50 minutes may be considered “about an hour”. If the flight is more than 10 minutes less than the published duration, in the interests of fair business practice, passengers may qualify for refunds or flights at a future date, as described in our “Short Flight Refund Policy”.Flights less than 15% of the duration as outlined in our officially approved tour description will be categorised as “cancelled” and the flight can be re-booked or the pre-payment will be refunded.
  4. Should any element of any tour package be postponed or cancelled, this will not affect the commitment of any party in the agreement to the supplying and charging for, or receiving and paying for, the other elements of the package on the original dates and times unless otherwise agreed in writing.
  5. Refunds will only be made on irrevocably cleared effects and only via the same channels or medium as the pre-payment has been made, and only to the same company or person who effected them. Because each party in the chain of processing a booking may have individual agreements with the next, so this process is reversed in the processing of refunds unless expressly requested in writing by the prior party in that chain. Certain packages are not refundable but are re-bookable within a defined time frame.
  6. Unless otherwise stated, a minimum of 2 Full Fare Paying Passengers is required to justify a Flight Departure but these can be from 2 individual sources.
  7. FLIGHTS AND SERVICES will only be considered as having been CONFIRMED by the client on our receipt of FULL PRE-PAYMENT (or the furnishing of the required irrevocable guarantees) either,On booking
    A minimum period as most recently outlined in writing or contract, unless a waiver has been given in writing by ourselves in relation to any particular booking or series of bookings.
    Additionally, Standby Flights must be reciprocally confirmed between 6pm and 8pm the evening prior.
  8. An Invoice or a Pro-Forma Invoice will be e-mailed or faxed to the purchaser on request and the original will be mailed.
  9. ACCOUNTS must be PAID immediately on presentation unless otherwise agreed in writing.
  10. On effecting payment by a bank deposit or transfer, the client is required to urgently fax or e-mail us a copy of the relevant transaction documentation to the address given with our banking details.
  11. The first bookings paid for, will receive precedence over others unless otherwise expressly stated in writing by us (the Supplier). The greater the delays in the client’s upkeep of any agreed payment schedule, the less precedence that client’s booking will receive over other bookings currently on file.
  12. The onus rests with the client to ensure delivery of any payment, and the client must therefore reaffirm the delivery of payment with us (the seller) should he/she not receive acknowledgement, or relative communication from us, within 2 business days of it being effected.
  13. Overdue accounts will bear interest at the rate of two-and-a-half-per-cent per month or the legally allowed maximum as defined by the Usury Act (South Africa).
  14. Waivers, concessions or indulgencies may be considered on the merit of the individual situation and will have effect only when confirmed by us (the Supplier) in wr Any indulgence that we may grant the Client shall not constitute a waiver of any past or future rights of the Supplier.
  15. Fitness: Participants must be nimble enough to climb in and out of the 1350mm high basket without assistance from anyone else, be able to jump unassisted from a height of 60cm and stand for the duration of the flight – (approx. one hour unless stated otherwise). If these conditions of fitness cannot be met, special conditions will apply which may allow for frail, disabled or challenged passengers.  Please refer to our Conditions for the Carriage of Disabled Frail or Challenged Participants.
  16. No animals, pets, birds, are allowed on company property, vehicles and balloons except bonafide trained guide dogs.
  17. Every reasonable care to ensure accuracy has been taken in the translation of these conditions into other languages. Should any dispute of meaning or interpretation of these conditions arise when published in any other language than English, the English text and meaning will apply.

We specify that all passengers should be physically fit enough to stand for the duration of the balloon flight (about 1 hour), as well as being able to jump unassisted from a height of 60cm.

A “fast” landing could be up to 15 knots, or about 28 Kilometres per hour and at such speeds the balloon basket could drag across the ground for up to 200 meters or more.

If there is concern over the horizontal and vertical stresses that may be experienced, it may be wise to consult with ones chosen professional advisor. It is also worth bearing in mind that although conscious effort is employed to avert or reduce risk there is a slight chance that these criteria may be exceeded in the event of an emergency.

This is especially relevant regarding the transport of the frail, disabled or challenged in a responsible and legal manner.

As with any person with a disability or who is a tad frail we understand that this may affect the level of physical (or mental) stress they can handle and (as we have done numerous times in the past) we must endeavour to work together to tailor various aspects of the flight accordingly.

For simplification the word challenged is also used below to describe a frail or disabled passenger.

  1. A balloon must be available that can take a special space configuration to suit the passengers particular physical and physiological comfort and safety requirements. We have a fleet of 6 balloons and it is likely that one or two of these can be employed in this capacity.
  2. A companion must also fly with the challenged passenger who understands the particular condition and requirements of the passenger and who, without further assistance from anyone else, can ensure that this person can be boarded and disembarked without hindrance to other passengers, especially in an emergency. This is a legal aviation requirement which is in the interest of all parties.
  3. The pilot in command is obliged to use his discretion and may decline to fly certain passengers. If necessary the pilot may ask them to disembark if already boarded prior to takeoff if he or she believes that the flight conditions would not be conducive to their own and / or the other passengers safety and wellbeing. In this instance a full refund would be due to the passenger(s) or they could elect to rebook for a future date.
  4. The height of the basket is approximately 1350mm. Any passenger who fails, on the pilot-in-commands request, to demonstrate the ability to enter and leave the basket unassisted (or assisted by his or her companion passenger) may be declined without recourse or refund unless otherwise agreed.
  5. The onus is on the passenger to make a full disclosure. Non-disclosure will result in immediate disembarkation without recourse by the passenger and associated persons to any loss or damage sustained in any form, actual or consequential.
  6. The captains word is final and binding in accordance with South African aviation law.
  7. Sometimes when we are very busy, all our balloons are booked out for the first flight and we have to programme second flights. However we do not recommend these for challenged or frail passengers as the landings are more likely to be a bit too “sporty.” (Fast and bumpy and requiring much more physical effort to stay safely within the protective confines of the basket if it is dragged across the ground on landing – great fun if you can hack it, but not our usual style.)
  8. In the event of an unexpected decline in conditions during the flight, it cannot be guaranteed, but may be possible for the pilot to make an immediate landing to disembark such vulnerable passengers and then continue the flight with the remaining passengers. A percentage refund in accordance with our short flight refund policy would then be offered.
  9. All other terms and conditions are the same as those published.

In other words we want to minimize risk and maximize the enjoyment of all our passengers no matter who they are.

In summary, it is likely that we can fly a disabled, challenged or frail passenger if space is available on one of the required larger balloons, an able-bodied and responsible companion is aboard and that we have determined, to the best of our ability, that the weather and flight conditions are conducive to meet the comfort and safety requirements of the passenger.

It must however be understood that an objective differentiation may be made regarding the differing safety and comfort tolerance levels of the challenged and the non-challenged passengers.

We thus need and rely on the passenger to give us objective input to enable us to arrive at the best decisions for all concerned.

If the tour is cancelled by the passenger or agent, the deposit is forfeited. If the flight is cancelled because of bad weather, the flight is either re-booked or the deposit returned.

Should any element of the package be postponed or cancelled, this will not affect the commitment of any party in the agreement to the supplying and charging for, or receiving and paying for, the other elements of the package on the original dates unless otherwise agreed in writing.

A minimum of 4 guests is required to justify a Flight Departure but these could be from 4 individual sources.

Each balloon can be programmed to make one flight per day, at sunrise. If the flight is cancelled by us, for safety reasons, we will endeavour to fly in the late afternoon if conditions permit.

As there is less chance of flying in the late afternoon / early evening due to instability in the air at that time, it is not recommended to pre-programme for evening flights when booking.

We can endeavour to “consolidate” flights, if requested, where there are less than 4 guests requesting to fly, but such flights can only be confirmed “Subject To Others” and the relevant deposit must be pre-paid or acceptably guaranteed.

Full refunds will be made for flights cancelled by ourselves for safety reasons, and refunds for flights shorter than forty five minutes will be calculated according to our published scale. (Which is available on request.)

We suggest that you endeavour to program flights Mondays to Fridays as Saturday and Sunday flights are often very heavily booked.

All flights will be conducted within the relevant Terms and Conditions as published by Bill Harrop’s “Original” Balloon Safaris and Entabeni Private Game Lodge or Mabula Game Lodge.

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