The question gets asked as «is the commission worth it», which cannot be answered. The answerable version is: what did this channel produce that I would not otherwise have had, and what did it cost me to get it?
The calculation
Count only incremental bookings. Jobs that came through the channel and would not have reached you another way. A booking your regular agency would have sent anyway is not incremental, even though it arrived here.
Subtract the distribution cost. The operator is paid the full flight at their usual rate: our intermediation is not deducted from what they charge.
Subtract your own time on requests through the channel, including the ones that did not fly.
And add the fixed-cost coverage. An incremental flight contributes to your hangar and insurance whether or not it was your best-paid job of the month.
What remains is the channel's actual contribution. Run it over a quarter, not a month.
A month is too short for this market. One large booking distorts it in either direction, and seasonality means two consecutive months are rarely comparable.
The two figures operators leave out
The requests that did not fly. If a channel sends twenty and three fly, the seventeen cost you reply time. That belongs in the calculation, and leaving it out is how a mediocre channel looks good.
And the substitution effect. If bookings through the channel look like the clients you already had, you are paying distribution on work that was yours. Watch this in the first two quarters; it is the failure mode that takes longest to notice.
Where the value is genuinely high
Fields few operators can serve. Drake Bay at 83.5 nautical miles admits generous categories; the narrow strips do not. If your aircraft fits where others do not, requests reach you that nothing else would have brought. The specific aircraft is assigned on confirmation, based on passenger count, baggage and the destination field.
Gap days. A Tuesday that was producing nothing now produces something.
And clients with no prior route into your business. Search demand is the only source that reaches a passenger who does not know your name.
Where it is low, and you should say so
When your calendar is already full. Paying distribution in a month you would have filled anyway is pure cost.
When the work is repeat. A San José–Tamarindo of 97.1 nautical miles for a client on their fourth trip should be direct.
And when the jobs are short. A Quepos hop at 33.4 nautical miles carries the same distribution cost as a longer leg against a smaller contribution. 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.
When the answer becomes no
When incremental bookings stop arriving. If a quarter produces nothing the channel was needed for, stop. There is no penalty for leaving and no reason to keep an arrangement that is not producing. Operators we bring on evidence current certification, insurance and fleet documentation before receiving a first assignment.
We would rather you ran this number than took our word for it. A channel that only works when the operator does not measure it is not a channel worth having.
It also makes the conversation better when it goes the other way. An operator who arrives with a quarter of figures showing the channel underperformed is easier to help than one who arrives with an impression.
Frequently asked questions
How do I answer "is the commission worth it"?
You cannot, as asked. Count what the channel produced that you would not otherwise have had, minus what it cost.
What counts as an incremental booking?
One that would not have reached you another way. A job your regular agency would have sent is not incremental.
What do operators leave out?
The requests that did not fly, and the substitution effect when the bookings look like clients you already had.
Where is the value highest?
Fields few can serve, gap days, and clients with no prior route into your business.
Where is it lowest?
A full calendar, repeat clients, and short legs where distribution cost meets a smaller contribution.
When should I stop?
When a quarter produces no bookings the channel was needed for. There is no penalty for leaving.
Let us talk
The operator is paid the full flight at their usual rate: our intermediation is not deducted from what they charge.