Children Get Holiday Treat With Trip Aboard Santa Blimp

It was the day before Christmas and Santa was climbing on board after handing out gifts to boys and girls. But instead of the usual sleigh and reindeer, it was the Santa Blimp that awaited him at the Long Beach Municipal Airport. And this year, groups of children were riding with him.

During a weeklong promotional event, about 300 children from Los Angeles and Orange counties took turns aboard the airship. Most were treated to 10-minute tours over Long Beach, but some ventured on longer journeys to children’s hospitals in Los Angeles and beyond.

“It was like a once-in-a-lifetime chance!” 11-year-old James Condon, a member of the Buena Park Boys and Girls Club, said after touching down Tuesday morning. His brother Tim, 9, described the view: “You can . . . see the whole world and everything.”

The free rides were sponsored by AltaVista Software, based in Littleton, Mass.

Most of the children who received the free rides were associated with regional charity groups, although at least one family showed up Tuesday because they saw the ship on television Monday night. They also were taken up for free.

Pilot Leigh Bradbury said some children were so excited to see Santa arrive by car at the landing strip that they almost declined a ride on the blimp. “They were very concerned that they were going to get back in time to see Santa,” he said. Santa made sure to be there when they returned, Bradbury added.