Why are hot air balloon rides so expensive?

Question

Almost $200 per person!

Answer 1

Same reason that sets the price of anything. Market economics. Supply and demand. Many must be willing to pay that price so that's the price. Simple really.

Answer 2

A hot air balloon is not a very efficient mode of transportation, and they're very expensive -- partly because they're so uncommon. You're also paying for a person's time to operate the balloon. In an airplane a crew of five people can attend to 200 passengers, but a hot air balloon might have one pilot giving a ride to two or three passengers.

Answer 3

You're hiring several people and a vehicle for the day, plus paying for a fair amount of fuel, FAA flight clearance, etc.  When you factor all that stuff in, you're actually getting a bargain.

Figure: one guy in the basket to run the balloon, two guys minimum ground crew driving the chase vehicle.  That's three people you've hired.  Assuming there's two paying customers, that's $400 to split up between three guys.  Not great, not bad.  A couple of hours overtime on one day and I'm right there with them.

But now we add the FAA clearance, the propane to fuel the burners, wear and tear on the balloon itself - those things don't last forever, you know - and the balloonist's take starts to get pretty thin pretty fast.  That's why those guys usually have regular jobs and only do the ballooning thing on weekends.

Answer 4

Just one other quick facet from those above.  A balloon can typically only be flown once / twice per day.  That means all salaries and expenses need to be covered in one flight.  

A plane or other transport can typically be flown many times per day and that spreads the expenses over many different people.

Answer 5

That's not bad at all as the prices go.  The other responder gave some of the reasons.  The balloons are expensive and the envelope (bag part) does wear out and requires replacement.  Propane to fuel them is expensive.  Transportation to and from a site has its costs.  And certainly not least, liability insurance is not cheap at all.

Answer 6

It is as the economist will say "what the market will bear".

TRANSLATION:  That is what the people are willing to pay, so that is what they are going to charge.

Good Luck.