About us
Its DNA: a pioneering company, born from the passion of two men...
Having become the French leader in hot air balloon passenger transport, the company was created in 1985 in the heart of Burgundy in Vermenton by David La Beaume. A sailor by training with a transatlantic crossing under sail, David arrives in Burgundy with his captain’s stripes to criss-cross the waterways of the land of his ancestors. Seduced by the authenticity of the region, he makes discover its charms aboard luxury hotel barges. Very quickly the idea came to him to offer his customers hot air balloon flights. With his legendary enthusiasm, this project becomes reality when he meets Mark Dworski, his future partner. By this time, Mark was a seasoned pilot, based in Gstaad, Switzerland (although Welsh by birth) where he developed new techniques and equipment through the complexities of alpine flying. “During the ‘off-season’ periods, he participated in unusual balloon flights on several continents: Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas.
Seduced by David’s concept, Mark agrees to settle in Burgundy to develop France Montgolfières. David, the visionary, and Mark, the technical expert, have been a duo of enthusiasts for more than thirty years, who have known how to democratize a discipline previously reserved for an elite and allow everyone to taste the extraordinary pleasure of flight. in a hot air balloon.
... which leaves nothing to chance
France Montgolfières is a “pioneer” company in the field of public balloon flights. Consequently, it creates itself the conditions for its success by imposing a constant rigor on all the parameters of its services.
It trains its pilots, it designs and manufactures its aerostats, it checks its equipment, it carries out numerous test flights, it integrates all the skills likely to allow it to evolve towards ever greater safety but also towards greater satisfaction. client.
It calls on a wide range of skills:
Crew member, teammate, pilot, booking agent, specialized seamstress… so many examples of trades required to join the France Montgolfières family and its level of requirement.