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The Albuquerque skyline is iconic, not just for the beautiful Sandia Mountains, but for the colorful hot air balloons scattered across the sunrise. Rainbow Ryders has been part of that iconography for 40 years.

鈥淚 wanted to avoid a real job,鈥� said Scott Appelman, founder and CEO of Rainbow Ryders.

He started the hot air balloon company with one two-passenger balloon operating out of a garage. Forty years later, the company is the official balloon ride operator for the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta and employs some of the best balloon pilots in the world.

Appelman originated the Fiesta鈥檚 Balloon Glow, and organized the Special Shapes Rodeo, two highlights of the Fiesta. Rainbow Ryders renewed the contract to serve as the official Fiesta balloon ride provider in March.

鈥淚t鈥檚 weird because everybody said, you work so hard, but I really didn鈥檛 feel like I was working because I love what I do. I鈥檓 incredibly proud of everything that鈥檚 happened. It takes a big team to make this happen,鈥� Appelman said.

The company operates 47 active balloons in three markets, employs more than 100 people and flies 45,000 people each year, and have flown over 750,000 over the 40 years, Appelman estimates.

鈥淚鈥檝e always loved aviation,鈥� Appelman said. 鈥淚 used to be that nerdy little guy that would hang out at the end of the runway and watch planes take off. The idea of flying and just having no steering wheel and just kind of navigating what mother nature gives you, it鈥檚 a lot of fun and every flight鈥檚 different.鈥�

Appelman went to the first Balloon Fiesta when he was 12 years old. Just two years later, he was at the Fiesta crewing. By the time he got to college, Appelman had a buddy with a hot-air balloon who taught him to pilot. After finishing a degree in finance, Appelman started ballooning recreationally around the country.

鈥淚 was having a great time and decided that I was going to quit the family business, which was Academy Plumbing and Heating, and decided to see if I could make a living doing hot air balloon rides. I started with a two-passenger balloon, and I鈥檓 now the largest company in the world. It鈥檚 been a heck of a ride.鈥�

Balloon Fiesta has given the company brand recognition in other markets, and the ballooning company has used that recognition to reach higher altitudes.

鈥淭wenty years ago when I first started, it was probably 30% of our annual sales, and now it鈥檚 8%, so Fiesta鈥檚 great and very, very busy, don鈥檛 get me wrong. But I think Balloon Fiesta and other balloon events across the country show people that balloons are accessible, and they get to see what it鈥檚 all about,鈥� Appelman said.

Although Albuquerque may offer some of the best skies in the world for ballooning, and Balloon Fiesta built a market of balloon riders and helped Rainbow Ryders gain brand recognition, success was never guaranteed.

Growth took guts. The company opened a Phoenix office in the middle of a recession in 2009.

鈥淭here were 13 companies there, and it went down to one, so we saw a great opportunity. As the market came back, we were there and we were ready,鈥� Appelman said.

That same anticipatory thinking is why Rainbow Ryders is opening a new office in Glendale, Arizona on the westside of Phoenix in December.

One challenge of growth is finding pilots. There are a shortage of people signing up to do the job.

Pilot applicants are often already qualified to fly balloons, but Rainbow Ryders works with the pilots to train them to fly larger baskets, which are less responsive and harder to control.

The pilot license requires at least 10 hours of flight time, with a ground written exam and an in-flight exam, while a commercial license takes more hours. Rainbow Ryders looks for pilots with 100 to 150 hours of flight time.

Troy Bradley has more flight hours in Albuquerque than any other balloon pilot. The chief pilot for Rainbow Ryders has been flying longer than the company鈥檚 been around 鈥� 43 years. He鈥檚 run his own ballooning business, flown in Turkey, and broken 64 world ballooning records, including long distance flights across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

But for the past 15 years, he鈥檚 been flying for Rainbow Ryders, a job he loves.

鈥淚f I was out there flying every day by myself, I鈥檇 probably be bored with it by now. It鈥檚 taking people out and seeing them experience it for the first time. It鈥檚 the joy in their eyes, the smiles you鈥檙e putting on their faces. It鈥檚 hard to beat. It鈥檚 hard to call it a job when you鈥檙e doing something like that,鈥� Bradley said.

With passengers who are taking a balloon ride for fun and likely for the first time, safety is always the primary concern.

鈥淲hen I鈥檓 by myself or with a co-pilot that understands the risks, I鈥檒l be a little more aggressive, but with calling the weather on the rides, I鈥檓 the most conservative pilot out there. I don鈥檛 want an iffy day for anybody,鈥� Bradley said.

While it may be difficult to find pilots, finding customers has gotten easier. Business has doubled or tripled since the COVID-19 pandemic, Appelman said.

鈥淭he concept of tomorrow isn鈥檛 promised hit hard with a lot of people,鈥� Appelman said.

The customer demographics have also changed. Ten years ago, customers were likely to be 50 to 70 years old, but social media, where balloon basket pictures are endlessly Instagram-able, has made hot air balloon rides more popular with people in their 20s and 30s.

鈥淧eople aren鈥檛 waiting around 鈥� especially the younger generation. You guys want experiences. They don鈥檛 want to compile a whole bunch of material items,鈥� Appelman said.

New Mexico鈥檚 role as a leader in hot air ballooning has benefited the state鈥檚 tourism and residents鈥� quality of life, said Acting Tourism Director Lancing Adams.

鈥淭he brand essence of New Mexico True is about adventure steeped in culture and there really isn鈥檛 anything that embodies that spirit more than ballooning,鈥� Adams said.

In 2022, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta had over 800,000 attendees, 76% of which came from out of state, according to an economic impact report generated by Forward Analytics. The event generated $203 million of economic impact for businesses in the Albuquerque metro area, the report estimated.

In New Mexico, 85% of the Rainbow Ryders鈥� customers are tourists visiting the city, Appelman said, and riders are often celebrating something, like bachelorette parties or family reunions. There are four or five proposals a week, Appelman said.

鈥淚 was traveling with one of our corporate clients back in the 90s and I was filling up one of the vans in the middle-of-nowhere Oklahoma. This gentleman walks up, this old cowboy, he says, 鈥榊ou Scott?鈥� I say, 鈥榊es I am.鈥� And he鈥檚 shaking my hand as I鈥檓 pumping gas in the van, and he says, 鈥榊ou flew me and the missus years ago on our anniversary and she鈥檚 still talking about it, and I want to thank you.鈥欌��

鈥淏eing part of that memory and being able to create a situation where that was that meaningful to people, you鈥檙e doing something good,鈥� Appelman said.