THE EUTELSAT BALLOON COMES BACK TO THE SKIES OF PARIS!

Published 2004/05/07

For the third year running, Eutelsat and Aeroparis will be offering Parisians and visitors alike a chance to see the city from above, on-board the largest tethered balloon in the world based in the André Citroën Park (Paris 15th).

Eutelsat, one of the world’s leading satellite operators, and Aeroparis a subsidiary of Aerophile, world leading constructor of tethered gas balloons, will be reinflating the Eutelsat balloon in the André Citroën Park in Paris on 12 May (providing weather conditions are favourable). The envelope of the balloon has been replaced but the famous circular cradle will once again be in place with space for up to 30 adults or 60 children. The balloon will therefore soon be rejoining the most famous monuments in Paris. More than 60 000 people took a ride in the balloon in 2003, including 27 000 children.

The largest tethered balloon in the world

Attached to the ground by a hydroelectric winch, the Eutelsat balloon will contain 5500 cubic metres of helium (a fully inert gas). It will lift passengers to a height of 150 metres above the ground from where they will be able to view the French capital and its surroundings from a unique angle. The balloon is 32 metres high, the equivalent of a 12-storey building, and measures 22 metres in diameter.

The concession for the Eutelsat balloon, which is now an established feature of the Paris skyline, has been extended by the Paris Town Hall until December 2007.

• 92 % would like the Eutelsat balloon to remain in Paris;
• 96 % find the design of the balloon attractive;
• 73 % would like to ride in it;
  
• 98 % of those who have already tried it would recommend it to others.

Some practical details

Opening hours: every day from 9 in the morning until 30 minutes before the Park closes.

Cost: 10 € for adults (12€ at weekends and on public holidays), 9€ for children between 12 and 17 (10€ at weekends and on public holidays), 5€ for children between 3 and 11 (6€ at weekends and on public holidays), free to children under 3.

Flights in the balloon are subject to weather conditions. You are therefore advised to confirm that the balloon is operating on the day itself by calling +33 1 44 26 20 00.

About Aerophile S.A.

Set up in 1993 at the initiative of two twenty-five year old engineers, Matthieu Gobbi and Jérôme Giacomoni, Aérophile S.A. reinvented the large tethered balloon after an absence of more than 80 years. Aerophile S.A. has become the global specialist in tethered balloons, with two flagship models in operation. The Aero30 model, which can carry 30 people, first appeared in 1994 and thirty systems have been sold in four continents across the world. The Aero 2 model (for 2 people) first appeared in 2000. Aerophile S.A. has three subsidiaries: Aeroparis, responsible for operating the Paris balloon since 1999, Aerobrussels, responsible for operating the balloon in Brussels since 2003, and Aerophile Canada, responsible for operating the Toronto balloon, which opened this year.
Today, almost 30 balloons have been installed by Aerophile in four continents, with sites in China, Japan, the United States and Europe, in such prestigious locations as Berlin, Rome, Brussels, Istanbul, Nagasaki, and the temples of Angkor

www.aerophile.com

Press Contacts:

AEROPARIS S.A.R.L.
Jérôme GIACOMONI
giacomoni@aerophile.com
Parc André Citroën
2 rue de la Montagne de la Fage
75015 Paris, France
Tel : + 33 1 44 26 2001
Fax : + 33 1 45 58 19 99