How high can hot-air balloons fly?

I can tell you though, that on one of the balloon flights I have taken in Luxor, I asked the pilot how high we were (when he took the balloon to it's highest point of the flight) and he told me we were at about 3000 feet.. read more

But hot air balloons need oxygen for their burners to work – and the higher they rise, the thinner the air and the less oxygen available. The all-time record for hot air balloons is about 20,000 meters – or roughly 65,000 feet – set in 1988 by Per Lindstrand of the United Kingdom. read more

On November 26, 2005, Vijaypat Singhania set the world altitude record for highest hot air balloon flight, reaching 21,290 m (69,850 ft). He launched from downtown Bombay, India and landed 240 km (150 mi) south in Panchale. read more

Hot air balloons fly when the air inside the hot air balloon is less dense than the air surrounding it. Hot air is less dense than cool air; the heated air causes the balloon to rise simply because it is lighter than an equal volume of cold air. read more