Flight management software for commercial balloon operators
All your balloon flights planned, booked and communicated. In one platform.
Quick Release handles your bookings, weather data, lift calculation, crew and passenger communication. Built by a balloon pilot, EASA-proof, and flying for over ten years.
Trusted by balloon operators across Europe
- 190+
- pilots
- 13.000+
- balloon flights
- 188.000+
- passengers
- 325.000+
- messages
Up to 40% of all scheduled flights are cancelled due to weather. Operators using Quick Release reschedule them in a few clicks — the system suggests suitable alternative dates by itself.
Quick Planning
Plan every flight like a pro
- Weather forecast per launch site, automatically refreshed twice a day — with wind profiles at every altitude.
- Automatic trajectory prediction on the map: see where your balloon will drift before you decide.
- Lift calculation without paper load charts: balloon, cylinders and passenger weights are computed automatically, with a warning when spare lift runs low.
- Manifest and Operational Flight Plan as branded PDFs. Sunrise, aviation bulletin and EASA fuel reserve included.
Quick Reservation
From enquiry to a full basket
- Drag bookings onto flights — capacity and duplicate bookings are guarded automatically.
- Flight cancelled? Quick Release suggests suitable alternative dates by itself and helps fill empty seats faster.
- Issue gift vouchers, track them and convert them into a booking in one click. Expiry dates run automatically.
- Connect your own website: bookings and gift vouchers flow straight in through the API.
Quick Communication
WhatsApp, linked to your own number.
- Invitations, confirmations and reminders via WhatsApp — included without limits, with SMS as a fallback.
- Templates in your customer's language (Dutch, French, English, German) with automatic merge fields: date, time, meeting point.
- Attach photos of the parking or launch site with a single tap.
- Every conversation neatly attached to the right booking, with delivery status. Replies come in live.
sent automatically · delivered ✓✓
Quick Check-in
Treat your passengers to their own web page
- Every booking gets a personal web page: UP — with your logo, your colours and your words, no app store needed.
- Passengers pick a date from your available flights themselves, or accept your invitation with one tap. Calendar file included.
- Online check-in: they fill in names, ages and weights themselves. Accurate weight & balance, zero phone calls.
- Chat directly with your passengers, in four languages. Every text can be customised.
Quick Execution
Your crew plans itself
- Pilots and ground crew submit their own availability — you keep the overview.
- Flight ready? Everyone automatically receives the full briefing: passenger list, meeting point and trajectory map, by email or WhatsApp.
- Flights appear in their calendar automatically (Google, Apple, Outlook).
- In the field: check in passengers, sign off and register the landing with GPS — on any smartphone.
Automatic briefing
✅ Flight ready — Sat 12 July, 7:30 pm
- 🎈 OO-BXL · Hoogstraten (church)
- 👥 8 passengers · 2 children
- 🗺️ Trajectory map attached
- 👷 Pilot: Wim · Crew: Els, Jan
Sent to pilot and crew by email and WhatsApp
And there's more…
Digital logbooks
Per pilot and per balloon, generated automatically from your flights. Export to PDF and CSV.
Expiry tracking
Insurance, inspections and licences turn green, orange or red before they expire.
Reports
Flights, bookings, payments, vouchers and SMS usage. Dashboards included.
Roles & permissions
Operator, assistant, pilot, crew, meteo or report viewer: everyone sees exactly enough.
Safe & sound
Two-factor authentication and an automatic backup every night, delivered to your mailbox too.
In your language
Admin environment in 10 languages, customer communication in 4.
Free updates
New features every month, automatically for everyone. No versions, no extra cost.
One price. All features.
Pick your plan based on your fleet capacity: the total number of seats across your active balloons. Everything else is included in every plan.
Tropo
€330 / year
excl. VAT
Fleet up to 15 seats
- All features
- Unlimited flights and bookings
- Unlimited WhatsApp
- UP: personal flight page
Strato
€825 / year
excl. VAT
Fleet up to 30 seats
- All features
- Unlimited flights and bookings
- Unlimited WhatsApp
- UP: personal flight page
Meso
€1.650 / year
excl. VAT
Unlimited fleet
- All features
- Unlimited flights and bookings
- Unlimited WhatsApp
- UP: personal flight page
Frequently asked questions
- What counts as fleet capacity?
- The sum of the seats of your active balloons. Two balloons with 12 and 8 seats = 20 → Strato.
- What do messages cost?
- WhatsApp is included without limits. SMS costs €0.10 per message; extra bundles are available.
- Is the personal flight page included?
- Yes, in every plan, with your logo and colours.
- How does the trial work?
- You test for free with no strings attached, no credit card. I set up your environment personally.
- Can I bring my existing data?
- Yes, bookings and gift vouchers import via CSV, and I help you get started.
Quick Release is offered exclusively to businesses with a VAT number.
A look inside the software
From planning to logbook — this is Quick Release in action. Click a screen to zoom in.
Built by a balloon pilot, for balloon pilots
A balloon flight as a birthday present changed everything: two years later I had my licence. As an IT professional I saw how expensive and clumsy the existing software for balloon operators was — so together with my flight instructor I built Quick Release. More than ten years later I still work with and for the operators who use it every week. Questions? You'll be emailing me directly.
Wim Maet · Balloon pilot & software engineer
wim@upconsulting.be
Start your free trial
Tell me briefly who you are. I set up your environment personally and you'll receive an email as soon as you can log in — usually within one working day.