They are two distinct things and they are often confused, professionals included. One authorises flying. The other authorises arranging. They do not overlap and they do not substitute for each other.
What each one authorises
The operator certificate — Part 135 in the United States framework, and its equivalent under each national authority — is what permits carrying passengers for compensation. Behind it sit approved manuals, a maintenance programme, crew training and continuing oversight.
The broker registration — Part 295 — authorises arranging that carriage for a third party. It authorises flying nothing. A broker dispatching flights would be operating without a certificate.
Why verification is in your interest
It looks like administrative friction and it is the opposite.
A broker who does not check the papers puts you alongside those who do not have them. If certified operators and private aircraft selling seats sit on the same platform, the price the client sees is not comparing like with like, and you lose to someone who does not carry your costs.
And when something goes wrong, the question arrives anyway. An incident involving an uncertified operator taints the whole chain, including those who were certified. In a market as small as Central America's, where operators number in the dozens rather than the hundreds, that contamination is immediate.
Operators we bring on evidence current certification, insurance and fleet documentation before receiving a first assignment.
What we verify, and why each item
The certificate in force, with its scope. A certificate that does not cover the specific operation does not serve for that operation — a distinction overlooked more often than you would think: an operator approved for domestic work is not approved by default for an international leg.
The policy and its limits. Not to opine on your cover, but to know it exists and how far it reaches. It is also the figure a corporate client asks for before signing, and having it to hand shortens that conversation.
And the sheet for each aircraft. Registration, seats, hold and runway category. Drake Bay is 83.5 nautical miles from San José with a 1,000 × 18 m runway; Quepos is 33.4 with 1,100 × 18. Knowing which aircraft goes where avoids requests you would have to decline.
What we do not do
We do not audit your operation. We do not review your manuals, assess your maintenance programme or opine on your procedures. Your authority exists for that, and duplicating it is not our role.
Nor do we ask for access to flight data or your tracking system. What we need in order to quote fits on a sheet; the rest is your operation.
And we are not your guarantor before the passenger. The flight is covered by your certificate. We work with certificated operators and aircraft available in Central America; outside the region we coordinate on request.
The nuance worth grasping
Verifying does not make the broker responsible for the operation, and it does not relieve you of anything either. These are two responsibilities running in parallel, not one absorbing the other.
Anyone offering you the opposite — "we answer for the flight" — has either not understood the arrangement or is telling you what you want to hear. Neither is a good sign in someone about to put passengers on your aircraft.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Part 135 and Part 295?
Part 135 authorises carrying passengers for compensation. Part 295 authorises arranging it, not flying.
Can a broker dispatch flights?
No. That would be operating without a certificate. The separation is regulatory, not contractual.
Why ask for documentation if you do not audit me?
To know that whoever flies can fly. Verifying is neither auditing nor directing. Operators we bring on evidence current certification, insurance and fleet documentation before receiving a first assignment.
What do I gain from you verifying others?
Not competing on price against someone who does not carry the cost of being certified.
Do you ask for my flight data?
No. What we need to quote fits on a sheet; the rest is your operation.
Do you answer for the flight?
No. The flight is covered by your certificate. We work with certificated operators and aircraft available in Central America; outside the region we coordinate on request.
Let us talk
Operators we bring on evidence current certification, insurance and fleet documentation before receiving a first assignment.