We are searching for an individual to join our flight administration office team. This is a full-time long-term position, working with a successful local business; we are the third largest provider of balloon flights in the UK and were one of the first CAA licensed operators over 20 years ago.

The office duties cover most aspects of our business administration, including:

1. Scheduling of balloon flights and making flight reservations for customers.
2. Processing bookings and taking telephone orders.
3. All aspects of customer care and relations.
4. Invoicing corporate clients.
5. Assisting with marketing, including website maintenance and content.
6. Maintaining our computerised customer database.
7. Other promotional/administrative tasks as required.

Clearly, we will give full training on our business activities and also on the bespoke software reservations package that we utilise.
In additon to the office based duties above, there are further opportunities for the appropriately suitable candidate to work with the hot air balloon ground crews. Some of our crew have even qualified as private pilots after passing the Civil Aviation Authority training program & examinations, with a view to gaining their commercial qualifications in due course.

The successful applicant will have:

1. an excellent telephone manner.
2. good organisational skills.
3. an outgoing and confident personality – to match the exciting services that we provide.
4. strong computer skills, including use of Microsoft Office products.
5. the ability to manage their own time efficiently and work on their own initiative.
6. an extremely reliable, punctual and dedicated attitude to their role.

We are busiest through the summer months, and so most holiday time must be taken in the period from October to April.
We operate normal office hours (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm) although occasional weekend office duties can occur at busy times.
Basic salary is £14,500 with the opportunity to earn an additional circa £4000 if ground crew duties are undertaken (extra hours apply).

You will need to have your own transport due to the rural location of our office near Great Haywood.

Please apply by email to  jon@wickersworld.co.uk, enclosing your CV and a detailed description of why you would suit our business requirements. Take a close look at our website to find out more about our company and the service that we provide.

Subject to demand, we may initially select candidates based on their CV as described above, and then carry out telephone interviews before calling any applicant for interview in person. Please ensure that you provide contact telephone numbers and if necessary an indication of convenient times for us to call you.

Jon Rudoni.
Director.
Wickers World Ltd.

Buying a balloon flight is easy – there are loads of web sites selling them! However, choosing between different companies may be a little more tricky, and so here we offer you some useful impartial advice so that you can make an educated decision before you part with your money!

1. Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, check how often the company flies its balloons in your area!

You see, there are some big balloon operators out there that advertise dozens and dozens of launch sites, but fail to mention that they seldom, if ever, fly from some of these venues. They don’t have nearly as many balloons as they have venues to fly from, and the result is that customers get a limited service. Furthermore, they sell large volumes of cheap vouchers but don’t fly anything like the number of passengers that they book! Many of their passengers never get to fly.

Notice that these companies do not allow you to see their flight schedule until AFTER you’ve bought your voucher! That’s pretty tricky! With us, you can see what we have booked for the next month or two by clicking on the ‘book date’ button.

To make it simple, let us stress the following: Wickers World makes more flights, and carries more passengers, than any other operator in this region. In the last 12 months, our balloons have made hundreds of flights from our venues across Staffordshire, Cheshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Derbyshire, Shropshire and Herefordshire – just like the year before, and the year before that, and the…well, you get the idea!

2. Ask how many balloons the company operates at the same time.

If a company has to cover eighty launch sites with just a dozen balloons, customers may find it difficult to get their flight when they want it! Again, it’s a question of “buyer beware”: if you don’t ask these questions, nobody is going to tell you the answers! Here at Wickers World we have flights scheduled every day (except Christmas!) from our areas of Derbyshire, Cheshire/Shropshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire/Herefordshire and Warwickshire/Gloucestershire – that’s outstanding service for you. We were out flying in December and January last winter (when many operators don’t even bother to fly at all), and had some spectacular flights on those frosty days in the snow! That’s how we fly almost 6000 passengers each year!

3. Do you want to deal with an impersonal call centre, or a local family business?

We’re a family business, offering that extra personal contact. Call our office and you are as likely to speak to one of the pilots as you are to one of our reservations girls! If you need first hand information, or local advice, our team are experienced and expert at everything we do – we’ve been doing it for over 21 years!

4. You want value for money, don’t you?

Well, check out our competitors’ advertised flight durations, and you’ll find most of them are offering flights of about (or ‘approximately’) one hour. Does that mean 40 minutes? 50 minutes? Who knows! Our flights are GUARANTEED to be AT LEAST one hour in duration, and are regularly closer to an hour and a half! How much has that free gift or glass of  cheap ‘bubbly’ cost you, if you only get 40 minutes in the air?

5. Finally, don’t forget our price promise!

If you find an equivalent flight service for less, from a company based within 50 miles, we’ll beat the price by £5! It’s that simple! Just call us on (01889) 88 22 22.

So be careful out there – there are some traps you need to be aware of.
Some companies are very good at selling you a voucher, but definitely not so good at providing your balloon flight!

Welcome to our customer testimonial page. Please take the time to read what other people think about us and ballooning in general!

*****

Dear John,
Just a quick email to thank you and all the team for our fantastic flight yesterday afternoon. Joanne (Charlton) and I really enjoyed it and it was well worth the wait, it has been a while since we enjoyed ourselves so much.

We have told all our friends about it and have said we would love to do it again next year.

Thanks again

Steve and Jo - Flew 01/12/11 – PM

*****

Just a quick note to say very many thanks for a great afternoon on Thursday.

You really made it so very enjoyable.  It was clear that you were enjoying yourself as well as being ‘at work’.  Thanks for being so open and chatty with us all, almost as if it was a novel experience for you too – which it clearly WASN’T !

Val and I both enjoyed the flight very much and are glad that we chose to come with Wickers World and had the pleasure of flying with you.  The fact that Adam was able to join in at the last minute added a special bonus.

Thanks again.  We shall have no hesitation in recommending you to anyone who wants to know about ballooning.

Best wishes,

Dave and Val Taylor – Flew 01/12/11 – PM

*****

Thank you for such a wonderful experience! An experience that we will cherish forever. We arrived at Shugborough Hall and were immediately put at ease by the professionalism that the team conveyed. The flight was truly breathtaking, words cannot begin to explain how beautiful the world looks whilst silently floating above it. A big thank you to the team and hope to see you all again soon.

Chris McDonald

*****

WOW! (Wonder of Wickers!)

Thank you so much for a fab flight yesterday morning. The professionalism, passion and knowledge of everyone in the team that we encountered was unsurpassed. You made it a truly memorable event, that we have still haven’t stopped telling others about!

Look forward to taking a further flight with yourselves in the near future.

Mr G Turner

*****

Thank you all very very much for a fantastic balloon flight last Sunday morning at Dearnford Lakes. My wife Sally actually had a brandy and lemonade at 5am last Sunday and another as we arrived at the location because she was that worried.

No need at all with Kevin the pilot and the two guys who were with him putting her at ease straight away. I was drafted in at the last minute to replace my wife’s friend Melanie who could not make it and was not totally convinced I wanted to do this myself.

But it was a remarkable experience that was enjoyed by Sally, her mother Josie and myself on an absolutely stunning morning over Shropshire. Thank you all again so much for making our day certainly one to remember for the rest of our lives. Absolutely Brilliant.

Mr & Mrs Bebbington

*****

Thank you for a wonderful flight, and absolutely superb experience, from Shugborough this morning. We were delighted by every aspect of our adventure!

Mr Steer

 *****

Just wanted to send a quick note of thanks to all the Derbyshire team that made our balloon flight on the morning of the 1st september so fantastic.
The flight was a birthday present for my mum for her 60th & both of us had an amazing time.

L Gardener

*****

My daughter, Paige, and I flew with you last evening. We both would like to thank you for the experience. The take off and landing were smooth and we felt absolutely secure the whole time. The views from the sky were stunning and the commentary from our Pilot, Graham, were really helpful.
All in all a wonderful experience, even down to repacking the balloon etc on landing! We’d certainly recommend you to others

Mr Edwards

*****

I just wanted to drop you a little line to say a big “THANK YOU” for making my auntie’s (Beryl Blood) flight yesterday afternoon the most wonderful experience she has ever had in her 80 years! She was so worried about so many things, but the pilot and groundsmen put her at ease straight away and she had the most thrilling time.

Mr Sketchley

*****

I just wanted to thank you for such a wonderful  experience my mum and daughters loved every moment, it was perfect a very professional service  from begining to end.

N Harris

*****

At first I was apprenhensive due to my fear heights but it was absolutely fabulous. I can’t wait to do it again, it exceeded all expectations. Flying in the Autumn was great, the colours and the context of the landscape were fantastic.

I can’t wait to do it again and I think i’m going to go for a cold frosty morning. I would highly recommend the company and the experience to anyone.

Mr Wilcox

*****

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, we would not know where to start to tell you how happy you made him, He well never forget the experience. You are all very kind, once more, many thanks.

Mr and Mrs Stafford

*****

Just wanted to say a massive thank you for yesterday, the flight was fantastic. Even though we had one flight cancelled due to the weather it turned out that a winter flight was worth waiting for.

Mr Parsons

*****

It had always been an ambition for my husband to do a balloon flight. I have to admit that I was very nervous as I don’t like heights. I can honestly say that I never had a moment of fear from the time we set off.

Mrs Talbot

 *****

Hi I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who was working with the balloon flight yesterday morning from Pitchcroft Worcester, my Dad and I had an amazing time! The text message I received from you on Friday afternoon saying great weather and spaces available is a great service and brilliant reminder.

Miss Martin

*****

A truly memorable experience for both of us and will always be part of the memory bank.

Mrs Edgington

*****

What a fantastic flight. (Still waiting to come back down to earth!)

Mr and Mrs Bain

*****

I would like to thank you for a wonderful experience on that day and the photograph is simply amazing.

Mr and Mrs Branington

*****

Thank you so much for a really enjoyable experience this morning.
Both my friend, Ruth and I had a terrific time and the pilot and the crew were such nice people, it made it all the more fun.

Mrs Hannasford

*****

We were most impressed with the whole professional operation of the team, and will certainly recommend you to others.

Mr and Mrs Hemming

*****

Being a nervous passenger the friendly and professional way in which Wickers World handled the flight was very reassuring.

Mr Stephens

*****