Balloonomania their ballooning stunts, with Blanchard and his companion Dr. John Jeffries being the first to cross the English channel in a balloon on January 7, 1785. The public reaction among intellectuals and academics was generally cooler, with some critics of balloonomania including the likes of Sir Joseph Banks and Samuel Johnson, who wrote in a 1783 letter to Hester Thrale, who had inquired about the nature of hot air balloons, “Happy are you, Madam, that have ease and leisure to want intelligence of air balloons. Their existence is, I believe, indubitable, but I know not that they can possibly be
Hot air ballooning in Luxor Hot air ballooning in Luxor Hot air ballooning in Luxor is an aspect of the Egyptian tourist industry, tour companies offer rides in hot air balloons to tourists who enjoy magnificent views of ancient Thebes, the temple complexes of Karnak and Luxor, the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens. A series of hot air balloon accidents have called the industry's safety record into question. Companies began offering hot air balloon rides to tourists in Luxor in the early 1990s. The balloon rides are an important part of Egypt's tourism industry. Following a 2009 crash, balloon flights