New York Hot Air Balloon Ride Operator Rankings & Safety Report

zReports Research Institute · Updated August 2026

Bythe zReports Aviation Safety Research Team · zReports Research Institute Data sourcezReports Consumer Intelligence Database™ v2026.08 Facilities analyzed32 Government sourcesthe FAA and the NTSB under 49 CFR Part 830 mandatory accident reporting Last updatedAugust 2026 MethodologyConsumer Z Score™ · Database v2026.08

New York has 32 active licensed balloon ride operators on the state's public file. zReports analyzed NTSB federal aviation accident records (49 CFR Part 830 mandatory reporting) to produce a records layer grade for every one, the government's own verdicts, mapped through one fixed rule. No facility can pay to change a score, and the grade is free.

Key findings

32active licensed balloon ride operators across 25 New York cities appear on the state's public file.
100%hold an A or B records layer grade.
85is the statewide average records layer score across all graded balloon ride operators.
New Yorkhas the most licensed balloon ride operators in the state (5).

Key statistics

StatisticValue
Active licensed balloon ride operators32
Cities covered25
Statewide average records layer score85
Grade A facilities32 (100%)
Facilities with a clean record (no deficiencies on file)32 (100%)
Serious (high severity) findings on the record0
Moderate findings on the record0

By city

New York (5)Niagara Falls (3)Middletown (2)Selkirk (1)Lagrangeville (1)Hudson Falls (1)Munnsville (1)Clarence (1)Cheektowaga (1)Eggertsville (1)Glens Falls (1)Depew (1)Castile (1)Williamsville (1)Red Creek (1)New Hampton (1)Westtown (1)Dansville (1)Cazenovia (1)Buffalo (1)Groveland (1)Ashville (1)Ithaca (1)Durhamville (1)Binghamton (1)

Statewide top 25

#1 Above All Balloon Rides Selkirk · A-

#2 Above The Clouds Hot Air Balloon Rides Middletown · A-

#3 Adventure With Altitude Ballooning Lagrangeville · A-

#4 Aerostat Balloon Hudson Falls · A-

#5 Airborne Adventures Ballooning Munnsville · A-

#6 Balloon Bar Bflo Clarence · A-

#7 Balloon Masters Cheektowaga · A-

#8 Balloon Obsession & Floral Studio Eggertsville · A-

#9 Ballooning Adventures Glens Falls · A-

#10 Balloons Over Buffalo Depew · A-

#11 Balloons Over Letchworth Castile · A-

#12 Buffalo Balloon Williamsville · A-

#13 David J Longeill Red Creek · A-

#14 Enchanted Balloon Tours New Hampton · A-

#15 Enchanted Balloons Westtown · A-

#16 Event Cruises Nyc New York · A-

#17 Fantasy Balloon Flights New York Middletown · A-

#18 Flying Colors Ballooning Dansville · A-

#19 Heliny New York · A-

#20 Jim Griswold Cazenovia · A-

#21 Jim The Balloon Guy Buffalo · A-

#22 Liberty Balloon Groveland · A-

#23 Live On Air Fallsview Balloon Ride Niagara Falls · A-

#24 Micato Safaris-Luxury African Safaris New York · A-

#25 Niagara Falls Niagara Falls · A-

Don't see a name? Search it. Every balloon ride operator has an answer.

Methodology

The free grade on this page contains zero zReports judgment: it maps the state's own published licensing and enforcement verdicts through one fixed rule, applied identically to every balloon ride operator in America. Where the record and public reputation diverge, a highly reviewed facility with serious findings on file, the paid Consumer Intelligence Report™ surfaces it through the composite Consumer Z Score™ and our published ten point methodology. Facilities are never contacted and cannot pay to change a score. Read the full methodology →

About balloon ride operator licensing in New York

Adventure aviation operators in New York fall under federal oversight: the FAA and the NTSB under 49 CFR Part 830 mandatory accident reporting requires operators to report qualifying accidents, and those filings are mandatory, public, and permanent, the one surface no operator can reputation manage. This page is computed from that federal record.

Frequently asked questions

How many balloon ride operators are there in New York?

New York has 32 active licensed balloon ride operators on the state's public file, across 25 cities. Every one has a free records layer grade on zReports.

Which New York city has the most balloon ride operators?

New York, with 5 licensed balloon ride operators, followed by Niagara Falls (3) and Middletown (2).

How are New York balloon ride operator grades calculated?

The free records layer grade contains zero zReports judgment. It maps the government's own published verdicts, NTSB federal aviation accident records (49 CFR Part 830 mandatory reporting), through one fixed rule, applied identically to every balloon ride operator in the country. The paid Consumer Intelligence Report™ adds the composite Consumer Z Score™, which audits the record against public reputation through our published ten point methodology.

Why can a facility with 5-star reviews have a low grade?

Reviews and records are different surfaces. Reviews reflect what visitors chose to write, and can be managed by the business. Inspection and enforcement records are filed by the state, are mandatory, and cannot be edited by the facility. When the two diverge, the record is the surface worth checking. That divergence is exactly what zReports was built to surface.

How often are these rankings updated?

Rankings refresh whenever New York republishes its licensing data; facility pages carry the records-verified date for each provider. This page was generated from the current file as of August 2026.

Can a facility pay to change its score?

No. Facilities are never contacted, never notified, and cannot pay to be listed, delisted, or re-scored. zReports has no business relationship with any facility it grades, independence is the product.

Data Provenance

This report was generated from the zReports Consumer Records Database™, a continuously updated database that normalizes official government licensing, inspection, enforcement, ownership, and safety records across multiple federal and state agencies. Every statistic in this report is traceable to its originating public record. Facilities cannot pay to alter scores, rankings, or findings.

Data source: zReports Consumer Intelligence Database™ v2026.08 · Built from: FAA operator records · NTSB CAROL accident database (49 CFR Part 830 mandatory filings) · Public consumer review signals (audited, never trusted, in the composite Consumer Z Score™) · Proprietary Consumer Z Score™ methodology · Updated: August 2026

Cite this report

APA, zReports Research Institute. (2026). New York Hot Air Balloon Ride Operator Rankings & Safety Report (v2026.08). zReports.org. https://zreports.org/rankings/balloon/ny

MLA, zReports Research Institute. “New York Hot Air Balloon Ride Operator Rankings & Safety Report.” zReports.org, v2026.08, August 2026, zreports.org/rankings/balloon/ny.

Plain, New York Hot Air Balloon Ride Operator Rankings & Safety Report, zReports Research Institute, v2026.08, updated August 2026, zreports.org/rankings/balloon/ny

Related research

Hot Air Balloon Ride Operators in all states → New York rankings →Niagara Falls rankings →Middletown rankings → zReports Data Blog → How the Consumer Z Score™ works →