Hot air balloons work because hot air rises. By heating the air inside the balloon with the burner, it becomes lighter than the cooler air on the outside. This causes the balloon to float upwards, as if it were in water. Obviously, if the air is allowed to cools, the balloon begins to slowly come down.

A hot air balloon functions as a lighter-than-air aircraft that uses the principle of buoyancy to fly. Because hot air is less dense (lighter) than the cooler air surrounding it, heating the air inside the balloon's "envelope" causes the entire craft to rise. To achieve this, a pilot uses propane-fueled burners to fire a flame into the mouth of the balloon. To descend, the pilot simply allows the air to cool naturally or opens a "parachute valve" at the top to vent hot air. While the pilot has total control over vertical movement (altitude), they cannot directly "steer" the balloon horizontally. Instead, they must find different "wind layers" at various altitudes that are blowing in the desired direction. By moving the balloon up or down into these currents, a skilled pilot can navigate the craft across the landscape. The experience is unique because the balloon moves with the wind, meaning passengers feel no breeze and the flight is remarkably silent and smooth.