Interviewing the first female hot-air balloon pilot in Malaysia!

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(Interviewed March 2019)

Have you ever been on a hot air balloon? Ever wanted to go somewhere far away from your daily life?
This time, I met a pilot operating a hot air balloon.

Introducing Ms Atiqah

She is the first hot air balloon pilot in Malaysia, she runs companies AKA Balloon and MyBalloon Adventure with her sister.
She works to get more people in Malaysia to know about hot air balloons.

Nur Atiqah

She has lived in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and obtained a hot air balloon pilot qualification in 2015. Born in 1989.

Why did you decide to become a hot air balloon pilot?

It was my father's influence. When he went to Europe, he rode a hot air balloon in Sweden, and he became interested in ballooning (piloting a hot air balloon) and became fond of it. At the time, there were no hot air balloons in Malaysia, so he quickly retired from civil service and trained in the UK to become a pilot. Also, he started a company called AKA Balloon with his best friends. AKA is the initials of its three founders (K is the initial of Ms Atiqah's father's name).
We sisters rode balloons from a young age with our father. When I was a kid, I was terrified to fly in a basket while a fire was burning overhead.
My father hosted Malaysia's first hot air balloon event, MyBalloonFiesta, in 2009 in Putrajaya. He wanted to promote ballooning and AKA Balloon. When I saw balloons from all over the world fly at once, I realized that I wanted to learn to balloon! In 2015, I went to Spain to train and became a hot air balloon pilot.

What services do the two companies AKA Balloon and MyBalloon Adventure offer?

After my father passed away in 2012, we sisters took over the business he started.
AKA Balloon hosts International Hot Air Balloon Fiestas in Penang and Putrajaya (Penang and Putrajaya are both names of cities in Malaysia).
We also cooperate with corporate marketing, such as rent out hot air balloons in coffee advertisements.
We also fly hot air balloons with advertisements for companies and brands. Japanese companies are also interested in marketing with hot air balloons in Malaysia.
MyBalloon Adventure provides the public with a hot air balloon flight experience. There are many Japanese customers. Please take the chance to fly on a hot air balloon when you come to Malaysia.
I don't think ballooning would have happened in Malaysia if my father didn't act. He brought a ballooning teacher from the UK and started the hot air balloon business. I can say that the history of hot air ballooning in Malaysia started with my father. We want more people to know about hot air ballooning and make Malaysia a ballooning country like Japan.

The coffee advertisement which used AKA balloon's hot balloon 

How is Japan different from Malaysia in the hot air balloon field?

There are only a few hot air balloon pilots in Malaysia yet. My sister and I are one of them, and my father was Malaysia's first hot air balloon pilot. There is no education system to become a pilot yet, so if you want to be a hot air balloon pilot in Malaysia, you have to train abroad.
In contrast, Japan has an association called the Japan Balloon Federation, which has about 1,000 pilots nationwide. Some pilots have performed well in competitions and a Japanese pilot who has a world record (longest flight time).

Japan's hot air balloon "Tako" is visible

What are some of the challenges you currently face when running a company?

Cost (money), weather, and the fact that people do not know hot air balloons.
It costs a lot of money to maintain and fly a hot air balloon or to continue the MyBalloon Fiesta event. This event was attended by 20 hot air balloons from 11 countries. This event is supported by Putrajaya (government) and companies, but with the help of more corporate sponsors, I think more people to know about hot air balloons and visit MyBalloon Fiesta.
Also, depending on the weather conditions such as strong winds, it may not be possible to fly a hot air balloon, and it may be difficult to take off or arrive at a scheduled time and place. Many people don't know about hot air balloons, so what they don't know can lead to misunderstandings and misinterpretations.

(Reference note: At large, international balloon festivals, more than 500 hot air balloons gather, and it is said that 800,000 to 900,000 people visit.)

What are your future goals?

In addition to preparing for the International Balloon Festival and practising (to improve personal skills), I would like to make the two companies, AKA Balloon and MyBalloon Adventure, bigger and get more people interested in ballooning. We are working with our colleagues to create an education system that will allow people to receive ballooning training in Malaysia.

If you would like to contact Ms Atiqah, please see below
Click here for AKA Balloon link → If you want to use hot air balloon for marketing and advertising
akaballoonsb@gmail.com
Click here for MyBalloon Adventure link → If you want to ride a hot air balloon in Malaysia
info@myballoonadventure.com

Conclusion

In this interview, I realized that the importance of liking something is important when trying to achieve unprecedented challenges like what Ms Atiqah's dad did. Working with others to realize dreams and events. Ms Atiqah's motto was, "Anything can be done. I won't give up."
When I was with Ms Atiqah, I learned a lot about ballooning. Flying in the sky while feeling the wind was amazing, and I also want to be a hot air balloon pilot!

MyBalloonFiesta at Putrajaya 

Taiwanese pilots and team members who came to the Fiesta (we were wearing a cute bear T-shirt !!)

Fun facts about hot air balloons

Hot air balloons can move up and down and change altitude, but the direction of travel is up to the wind.
It is more difficult to fly hot air balloons in Malaysia, which is hot year-round, than in Japan, which has cooler seasons such as autumn and winter. Because, to create the power to fly hot air balloons, the temperature difference between inside and outside needs to be at least 80 degrees. Hot air balloon fabrics get damaged when the internal temperature rises above 120 degrees. Ballooning in hot Malaysia is best suited to early morning and sunrise hours.
Link of Japan Balloon Federation is here → If you are interested in ballooning, or if you want to see hot air balloon events, please refer to the website of the Japan Balloon Federation.