“Did the Wright brothers get it wrong?” These were the words uttered by Sir Arthur C. Clarke when he travelled in a hot air balloon for the first time with local ballooning company Air Asia, now known as Air Magic (Pvt) Ltd. Ballooning is the oldest mode of transport in the world started in 1783 in France by the [...]

The Sundaytimes Sri Lanka

Fly high in a balloon this festive season

View(s):

“Did the Wright brothers get it wrong?” These were the words uttered by Sir Arthur C. Clarke when he travelled in a hot air balloon for the first time with local ballooning company Air Asia, now known as Air Magic (Pvt) Ltd.

Ballooning is the oldest mode of transport in the world started in 1783 in France by the Montgolfier brothers. Developed through the years, it has become a sport and a mode of recreation that has gained full recognition commercially. Ballooning is usually done at sunrise. The service is fully insured and safety is assured by the company.

“Air Magic is a fully Sri Lankan owned organisation and is part of the Wild Holidays Group,” says Group management consultant Air Vice Marshall (Rtd), Laksen Salgado. “Our parent company was the pioneer in hot air ballooning in Sri Lanka and has been in operation since 2003. With over nine years of ballooning experience we have flown over 4000 clients safely.”

“We have seven balloons which is the largest proportion owned in our country,” says General Manager -Head of Operations at Air Magic, Capt. Chinthaka Jayasinghe. “We operate in the Cultural Triangle – Habarana, Dambulla and Sigiriya, and Kandalama, and the southern religion covering Ahungalla, Galle, Beruwala, Bentota and Bundala. We recently began sending tourists also to the Uva areas of Buttala, Pelwatte and Wellawaya.”

They hope to provide a special reduction for local tourists this season to make people aware of ballooning as a recreational experience and as a special boost to the Uva province. “As a tourist destination it has not been given promotion in this aspect before,” Capt. Chinthaka adds.

Contact Air Magic on 0773090903, facebook.com/airmagic.lk, or www.airmagic.lk




Share This Post

DeliciousDiggGoogleStumbleuponRedditTechnoratiYahooBloggerMyspace
comments powered by Disqus

Advertising Rates

Please contact the advertising office on 011 - 2479521 for the advertising rates.