All About Airads Flying Marriage Proposals

Here at Airads we are very proud of our as yet 'unbroken' record in flying marriage proposals as seen on TV and the newspapers. We gave up counting the number of successful banner flights a long time ago!

During the summer months in particular both weddings and marriage proposals are a big part of our business over the weekends and it's not unusual to have two or three of these in a twenty-four hour period spread around the south and east of England; the most popular spots being Leeds castle in Kent, Brighton pier and Southend pier.


The average cost of a plane banner proposal is about £450 (inclusive of VAT) but can of course vary, depending on where it's required. Of course, the closer to one of our aircraft it is (Leeds castle) the cheaper it is likely to be.

Once the flight is booked, we don't talk again until a day or two before the flight to check the weather with the client. If the forecast is bad, the client can either choose an alternative date or accept a full refund; it's as simple as that. If the day involved is absolutely critical, then the client can negotiate with us to 'have a go' if at all possible in the circumstances, without compromising flight safety.

Occasionally we can arrange for photographs of the banner in flight but this isn't always possible, so clients should ask us in advance if they are interested. Invariably, we find that in the excitement of the moment, the client rarely manages to get a good close-up photograph of the banner!

Finally, picking-up and flying banners is one of the more challenging jobs in aviation with less than ten people able to do it in the UK. We work very hard on delivering the proposal to the exact spot at the exact minute with military decision but with aviation, there's always room for the unexpected. We do our very best to keep the client informed by SMS and or phone and it's extremely unusual to have a delay. We recognize the client is under a great deal of emotional pressure and we try and make the entire process as transparent and stress-free as humanly possible. Invariably, we will give a ten minute morning before appearing, just so the client is ready on time to 'pop the question' and hasn't lost the ring in one of his pockets!

When she says 'Yes', send us a quick text, the pilot will waggle his wings and will leave you in peace to celebrate the moment quietly together!

All About Banner-Towing

This interesting video on banner-towing from an operator in the United States, neatly sums up the challenges and the nature of the market for aerial advertising and aircraft banners on both sides of the Atlantic.

Tolpuddle March 2010

It’s the Tolpuddle Martyrs Trade Union march again this weekend in the small village in Dorset that bears its name. Once again we’ll have two ‘ships’ over the top with banners for different Trade Unions, Joe Mann’s ‘Community’ and Bob Crow’s ‘RMT.’ I find it a little ironic at times that the Trades Union movement relies heavily on a Conservative-leaning pilot but they don’t seem to mind and last weekend I had a banner flying over the annual Durham Miners march.

Sunday’s march recalls the events of 1834, when six farm workers from the tiny village of Tolpuddle in Dorset were sentenced to seven years’ transportation, a massive protest swept across the country. Thousands of people marched through London and many more organised petitions and protest meetings to demand their freedom.

Thoughts for Prospective Airads Clients

It's the middle of a very busy July for Airads, with weddings, proposals and music festivals going strong. However, I wanted to write a few words for our potential customers to help manage their expectations a little.

You can find our condensed terms and conditions on our main website at www.airads.co.uk or simply ask us for a PDF copy with the full detail. However, very simply stated, if the weather is bad on the day of the flight, customers will normally receive a full refund, unless of course 'special conditions' apply, which normally involves sending us off to the location in the hope that the weather will be above our minimums at the specified time.

We normally have the same questions asked of us several times a week, so here they are with the answers.

Q. Can I have a banner flown over central London?

A. No. This is not possible between London City airport in the east and Heathrow in the west and a line approximately ten miles north and south, almost in line with the boundary of the M25.

Q. Why is it more expensive to have a banner near where I live?

A. It depends on where you are? There are principally five operators in the UK and these are widely spread out. Airads partners with all of these to provide a national service but some spots, such as the north-east, south-west and Birmingham have no aircraft within a hundred miles and so it costs an incremental cost in aviation fuel to provide a service and this can be expensive at £150 an hour for fuel!

Q. Why can't I have more than 32 characters and spaces on my banner?
A. Because of the aircraft's safety limit on drag. Any more and the aircraft may not fly!

Finally, towing banners is one of the most challenging jobs in aviation, which is why so few pilots actually do it. It is the aviation equivalent of rally-driving. Conditions are rarely perfect and so clients should be aware that while the great majority of flights go according to to plan and to the minute, there can be occasions when delays will occur in circumstances beyond our control.

Congratulations Emily Rose!

Another successful marriage proposal at the end of Brighton Pier today with Paul Davies popping the question to to his partner Emily Rose.

They certainly chose the perfect weather for their most romantic day out to the seaside. Brighton beach reminded me of the south of France and may have been hotter!

With that finished it was off to North London and Micklefield Hall for a wedding and congratulations to Nick and Jess on their marriage

Airads are back again on Sunday with a banner for 'Moshi Moshi' along Brighton seafront.

Banners from Heaven - A Papal Request

A banner for his Holiness, the Pope was the first request of the day but without a little divine intervention, it's not possible and I doubt the Lord himself could convince the authorities to allow me to overfly the Papal motorcade in either London or Birmingham.

Instead then, we'll be flying a banner for 'Moshi Moshi' over Brighton beach this Saturday and the weather looks  set to deliver another scorcher with some thunderstorms thrown in for good measure!

Margate's Big Event 2010

After several years of sunshine at this annual event, the weather was marginal for Margate's 'Big Event' at Palm Bay, with a howling north-easterly blowing for much of the weekend and bursts of rain.

Fortunately the display aircraft managed to struggle in for their performances, with thrills from the Red Arrows and the Battle of Britain memorial flight arranging a mock dogfight with an ME109, pictured.

After being grounded by the strong winds at the beginning of both Saturday and Sunday, the weather cleared just in time for a Red Arrows finale on the second day and Airads followed in with a sheet banner behind them. Better last than never!

New Town Killers Goes High

A reasonably varied weekend for Airads with one wedding banner at Lewes in Sussex, a test  flight sheet banner for www.tradeshop.org.uk which will fly by before the Margate 'Big Event' air show next weekend and a banner for the New Town Killers band, at an event outside Milton Keynes.

Coming-up, we're scheduled for 'Superbikes' at Silverstone and a handful of marriage proposals with yet one more booked along Brighton beach. 'Captain Cupid' strikes again, I fear!

At the Races - Epsom 2010

Airads headed over to the races at Epsom today with a banner for Mercedez Benz. The racecourse doesn't like advertising around its airspace and the inclusion of an air traffic zone for helicopters working the races forced us to keep our distance from the spectacle and work the approach road instead.

When this was all finished, we headed over to Leeds castle and Brighton beach for marriage proposals, so congratulations to both Priti and Karen who both said 'Yes' on this special day for both of them.

To Norwich with Aviva

A successful welcome to Norwich FC over the city last night with an Airads banner, sponsored by Aviva, following the team bus. Meanwhile, this morning Airads was having a good look at the London 2012 Olympic stadium, which you can see has some way to go before it's ready for the athletes!

Sky Banners and UKIP Aircraft Accident

Airads would like to send the company’s best wishes to pilot, Justin Adams of Sky Banners Ltd and UKIP leader, Nigel Farage, following the accident involving the UKIP election banner on Election Day that left both pilot and passenger in hospital.

The aerial advertising business in the UK is governed by CAA regulations and enjoys an unprecedented safety record. In the last week, Airads was also towing banners for UKIP, the Liberal Democrats and the Independent candidates during the week and we were shocked to hear of the incident last Thursday and relieved to hear that both men survived the aircraft crash landing, which is now being investigated by the Air Accident Investigation branch in order to ascertain its causes. We all hope to learn valuable operational lessons from its conclusions.

We wish both Justin Adams and Nigel Farage a speedy recovery and return to good health!

Nigel Farage Plane Banner Incident

Airads was not flying the UKIP banner today with Nigel Farage in Northampton.The aircraft involved, from another operator, was involved in an incident and both the pilot and Nigel Farage are reportedly being treated for minor injuries.


Airads was in fact flying another banner for UKIP over Birmingham and Coventry over the weekend (pictured) but without any incidents.

Captain Cupid Strikes Again - Another Successful Marriage Proposal

'Captain Cupid' strikes again with more  happy couple this weekend with a marriage proposal from Dave to Emma which saw the banner fly over the Anfield stadium and the Liverpool vs Chelsea match and earn a special mention in the newspapers!

Congratulations to the two of them. Airads lost count of the number of  unbroken, successful flying marriage proposals a long time ago, once these passed the 100 mark!

'Tom and George Still Not Welcome' - Another One for Anfield

Another banner over Liverpool's Anfield ground this afternoon for the club's supporters with the message: 'Tom and George Still Not Welcome' flying behind it. A little later we had a marriage proposal going in the same direction for another of the fans, so very much a game of two halves for the crowds being entertained in the stadium below!