Commission is easy to compare because it is a percentage. The time each booking consumes is harder to compare and frequently larger, and operators who only count the commission are comparing half the cost.
The steps in any booking
Whichever way it arrives, a booking passes through the same list: the enquiry lands, someone qualifies it, someone quotes it, the passenger decides, payment is taken, details are collected, the flight is coordinated, and an invoice goes out.
A channel removes some of those steps and none of the others. Knowing which is the whole comparison.
What a channel actually removes
Finding the passenger. The largest and least visible cost of direct sales, and the one operators habitually price at zero because it does not appear as a task.
Qualifying the enquiry. A request that arrives with field, date, passenger count and bag details has had work done to it. One that arrives as «how much to Drake Bay» has not.
Chasing payment, in most arrangements. AeroRide invoices and charges directly from the site; you receive your receipt in the name of the person or company you give us on confirmation.
And the conversation when something goes wrong, which is the step operators underestimate most because it happens on the day they are busiest.
What it does not remove
The quote itself, which is yours and should be.
Pre-flight coordination — exact weights, bags in pieces, the waiting arrangement. That work exists regardless.
And the flying, obviously.
A channel does not make you a smaller operation. It removes the front end, not the operation.
The number that decides it
Not commission against zero. Commission against your hourly value, multiplied by the hours a direct booking consumes that a channel booking does not.
Count it for one month, honestly. Enquiries that never converted included — those are the hours direct sales hides. Most regional operators who do this find that direct bookings are cheaper on paper and more expensive in a busy week, which is exactly the week the difference matters. The operator is paid the full flight at their usual rate: our intermediation is not deducted from what they charge.
Why the answer is usually both
Direct is your cheapest booking over three years and your slowest in a peak week. The relationship you already have with a lodge is worth more than any channel and costs you almost nothing per booking.
A channel is expensive per booking and buys back the hours you do not have in February.
A Tortuguero transfer of 53.4 nautical miles pays the same either way. What differs is whether you spent an afternoon on it, and in a full week an afternoon is the constraint rather than the margin. We show a "from" price per route; the final fare depends on the date, the group and the baggage, and is confirmed in writing before booking.
The version that goes wrong
Running both without deciding which gets your attention. Enquiries from three places, quoted at different speeds, with no rule about which you answer first — and the one that waits is usually the one that would have paid best.
Decide the order in advance, write it down, and give it to whoever answers. Operators we bring on evidence current certification, insurance and fleet documentation before receiving a first assignment.
Questions we get asked
Why is commission only half the comparison?
Because the time each booking consumes is harder to see and frequently larger than the percentage.
What does a channel remove?
Finding the passenger, qualifying the enquiry, chasing payment, and the conversation when something goes wrong.
What does it not remove?
The quote, the pre-flight coordination and the flying. It removes the front end, not the operation.
What number decides it?
Commission against your hourly value times the hours a direct booking consumes that a channel booking does not.
Why is the answer usually both?
Direct is cheapest over three years and slowest in a peak week; a channel costs more per booking and buys back hours in February.
How does running both go wrong?
Without a rule for which enquiry is answered first, the one that waits is usually the one that would have paid best.
Let us talk
Operators we bring on evidence current certification, insurance and fleet documentation before receiving a first assignment.