Our team introduce themselves

Christoph (DOB. 13.03.1970) has been playing with mainly small aeroplanes since he was a child. Cars and motorbikes interested him less. So it's no coincidence he has found himself intensively in the air since age 16. At age 16 he was the youngest hang-glider pilot in Switzerland and at 19 the youngest hot air balloon pilot. Today he holds all aviation licences apart from a helicopter licence. And will he also obtain this one day?

Mark Meyer (DOB 3th of May 1986) is Christoph’s “little” brother and in autumn 2009 took over the planning of the balloon and aircraft flights. He caught the flight bug from his brother and is now a commercial airline pilot for fixed-wing aircraft and also head of administration at Take-Off Balloon AG.

Evelyne Aellig (24.09.1987) joined Take-Off Balloon Ltd in September 2018 to support the marketing and administration team. With her creative and communicative spirit as well as her organizational side, assets that she will use in her new challenge to develop marketing. She loves versatility and variety in her work. "For me, ballooning means emotions, people, fascination, nature, tranquility and passion. I'm looking forward to this adventure!"

Anna (born 21.08.2000) has been working in the Take-Off Balloon AG team since May 2024 and is very happy to support the administration. The versatility and variety that comes from organising balloon flights impresses me day after day. Get in touch with us and experience this unique adventure!

Kim Meyer (born 15.07.2002) grew up with ballooning and dreamed of being a pilot himself at an early age. Since 2024, he has fulfilled this dream and is now a qualified balloon pilot. He also works in administration and as a retriever.

Andrei took his first balloon ever flight across the Alps as a passenger back in January 2006 and since that moment he so fully caught the balloon bug that he can now no longer imagine his leisure time without balloon flying. Firstly as a helper and retrieval driver he had opportunities to participate in many different balloon events across Europe and Switzerland. In 2010 Andrei finally decided to study to become a pilot in a Swiss balloon school. Since May 2012 he has been the proud holder of a pilot’s licence and he generally flies as a pilot in his favourite Seeland area where Andrei, together with his passengers, can enjoy these astounding landscapes from the balloon basket.

“Balloon flying is a wonderful hobby and also a passion for me. As with every balloon pilot it means assuming responsible tasks and being able to take decisions, yet in every single balloon flight I also experience unforgettable positive feelings.”

Bruno (DOB. 13.07.1965) has been moving around in the air since he was 20 years of age, whether as a skydiver, hang-glider pilot or passionate hot air balloon pilot. Bruno has been at Take-Off since the very beginning and has experienced the development of the company first-hand. He wants to be involved in everything and also likes being a passenger with Christoph in the aerobatic aircraft. Bruno is happy when he can pilot passenger flights for satisfied customers and also as a two-time father he also enjoys taking the whole family for a beautiful flight in the balloon basket over the Seeland.

I have been fascinated by flying has ever since I was a small child. And what was initially a dream became reality in 1994. I used to help out as a retrieval driver with the balloon team of the Bieler Tagblatt newspaper before in 1995 I completed my own training to become a balloon pilot. I was then regularly up in the air with various balloons over the Seeland. Then in 2008 I joined the Take Off AG team in Worben. Over the years I have acquired more flying qualifications. First of all I took the examination for powered aircraft followed immediately by the glider test. But the crowning glory was the aerobatic expansion for powered aircraft. This means that alongside the rather calmer balloon flights I can also create magic in the skies with a Bücker Jungmann and my Loops and Rolls.

Thanks to the airfield in Grenchen where I grew up I had a connection to aviation from a very young age. However, several years went by before my first ever parachute jump from an aircraft and my searches for thermals in a paraglider.

I now live in the Aargau, near Zofingen and it was quite by chance in 2015 that I came across balloon flights. I worked for about two years as a retrieval driver and then in 2017 I started to train as a balloon pilot and completed this several months later.

At ballooning meetings both here in Switzerland and also abroad I often came into contact with the Take-Off team. I joined the team in autumn 2018 and since then have been piloting the modern balloons of Take-Off Balloon AG.

Maurice Sottas (born 19.12.1958), lives in Gruyères. Thanks to a meeting with Hans Büker (pioneer hot air balloon pilot in the Alps), hot air ballooning became his great passion.

In 1993 he received his license to fly. Every hot air balloon ride means: observing and deciding, working closely with the team, having a unique moment with the passengers, starting an adventure and learning.

When Maurice joins Take-Off Ballon LTD, he meets a business owner who is surrounded by many professionals and is also passionate about the happiness of passengers.