The passenger compartment of a hot-air balloon is commonly called the basket.
The basket is suspended beneath the envelope by strong cables or load tapes. It carries the pilot, passengers, fuel tanks, burner frame, and instruments. Traditional baskets are woven from materials such as wicker, with a reinforced base and protective padding around the edges.
Although “gondola” is sometimes used for balloon passenger compartments, “basket” is the standard everyday term for most modern hot-air balloons. Larger specialized balloons may use other cabin designs, but recreational balloons generally retain the open woven basket because it is light, flexible, and comparatively durable during landing.
The basket does not steer the balloon like an airplane cockpit. Pilots control vertical movement by heating the air or venting it, while horizontal movement depends mainly on wind. By changing altitude, a pilot may find different wind directions and speeds, but there is no conventional engine or steering wheel.