Company Profile

Our Company was established in 1985 by Phil Dunnington, one of the World’s most widely experienced commercial balloon pilots who in the course of extensive ballooning activities has flown balloons in 109 countries to date (March 2013). Allie became part of the company in 2003, since when she has become high-profile in women's ballooning and commercial operations.

Gone-With-The-Wind aims to provide a unique source of advice and assistance for anybody considering a balloon-related event or operation anywhere in the world. We have unrivalled experience and contacts almost everywhere, can communicate in nearly 10 languages, and have visited a total of over 130 countries in the course of our careers. Gone-With-The-Wind holds a UK Civil Aviation Authority Air Operators Certificate which allows commercial operations in many locations worldwide, to international air transport standards.

We also offer a very specialised range of tours that includes Mongolia, Africa and Latin America. With itineraries that are tailor-made we have set up the opportunity to go ballooning, horse riding or hiking. For those who just want to relax and enjoy countryside and culture there are intriguing side trips and visits which rarely occur on more structured itineraries.

The following pages of our site give some insight into what can be achieved to make a ballooning project operationally successful and they will also tell you more about our exciting journeys.

The Consultancy

We have the experience of over 30 years in tourism and aviation to help you with any project anywhere involving balloons:

• Basic training to UK standards
• Product promotion
• Incentive and VIP experiences
• Public events and aviation entertainment
• Consultancy on tourist balloon operations
• Adventure tours for individuals and small groups
• Balloon hire for any events
• Aerial filming platform

For more details, click here.

Your Consultants

Phil, one of the World's most widely experienced commercial balloon pilots who in the course of extending ballooning projects has flown balloons in 109 countries to date (March 2013).

Evolving from a career in airline and aircraft manufacturing management, Phil, who has been flying balloons commercially since 1971, has helped establish tourist and promotional balloon operations in Europe, Africa, South and Central America and South-East Asia. He also set up his own balloon rides business in the English Lake District and Ireland, operating successfully for 12 years. In conjunction with British adventurer David Hempleman-Adams, Phil sets up select tailor-made expeditions to the Earth's remotest corners, ranging from Arctic Canada to Mongolia.

A Geography graduate specialising in air transport economics, Phil was the UK's chief examiner for balloon licences for over 15 years, deeply involved in formulating the technical and legislative framework of ballooning in the UK and overseas in conjunction with the Civil Aviation Authority and other administrative bodies. He is a director of Europe's largest annual public balloon spectacle, the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta, and has run similar events in Ireland, South America and the Middle East.

Phil's recent projects include advising major European travel industry groups on the infrastructure and safety aspects of tourist ballooning. He has also acted as expert witness in accident investigations in New Zealand, Kenya, Turkey, the UK and Egypt.

In 2009 Phil and Allie joined round-the-world balloonist Brian Jones on a charity and promotional world tour with a replica of the 'Breitling Orbiter' balloon to celebrate the 10th anniversary of this magnificent achievement.

Allie, born in 1967 in Germany, has travelled and worked in Asia since 1986. She has a Master's degree in Asian Studies and speaks various European and Oriental languages. Having lived and worked in countries such as Mongolia, China, Japan, Singapore and other far eastern countries Allie has an in-depth understanding of different lifestyles, cultures and mentalities. She has written travel articles and published photographs in major magazines and newspapers.

As a professional tour manager she specializes in organizing tours which offer a mixture of sporting activities such as golf, hiking, horse-riding or ballooning combined with cultural visits. She also works as a tour escort for some of the German and UK high end tour operators. Additionally she has completed her PhD in social sciences on the subject of tourism and anthropology.

Recent itineraries have included horse trekking in Myanmar and India, a photographic journey to Ladakh, Sikkim and Bhutan and an expedition along the Silk road of Central Asia.

Allie also holds a UK CPL (professional commercial licence) for hot air balloons. She has flown in 62 countries (to date March 2013) and hopes to fly in many more. She enjoys training new pilots and has been instructing young pilots in India, the UK and Germany.

New projects have included wild life filming by balloon for various world renown film companies in Czech Republic, Ireland and India with current projects in Mongolia, the Alps, Sri Lanka, Kenya and Venezuela. To enhance the ability to use lighter-then-air craft as camera platforms Allie has added an airship and a gas balloon rating to her balloon licence.

Our team can communicate in German, Chinese, English, Japanese, French, Indonesian, Italian, Persian, Spanish and Mongolian.