Most operators evaluate a new channel on feeling, three weeks in, during a quiet stretch. Ninety days and four numbers gives you an answer you can defend, whichever way it goes.
Weeks 1 to 2: nothing happens
This is normal and it is where most operators conclude wrongly.
A request arrives when a passenger searches a route your aircraft serves on a date you are free. None of those three is scheduled, and the probability in any given fortnight is genuinely low. The specific aircraft is assigned on confirmation, based on passenger count, baggage and the destination field.
Use the time to fix the sheet. If a Drake Bay job at 83.5 nautical miles or a Tortuguero transfer at 53.4 would reach you, the accuracy of what we hold decides it.
Weeks 3 to 6: the first requests
They will not all fit. That is the system working, not failing — a channel that only sent you perfect matches would be filtering on a performance calculation it cannot make.
What to do with them: answer fast, including the refusals, and record the reason for each no.
The refusals in these weeks are the most useful data you will get. They tell you, cheaply and early, whether the mismatch is your sheet, your region or your category — three problems with three different answers and only one of which is worth spending money on.
Weeks 7 to 12: the pattern becomes readable
By now you can see which routes reach you, which categories you are being matched against, and what share converts.
This is when a conversation with us is worth having, because you have facts rather than impressions.
Bring the four numbers. A conversation that starts with «it feels quiet» produces reassurance; one that starts with «nine requests, four fit, one flew» produces a decision.
The four numbers
Requests received. Raw volume, monthly.
Share that fit your aircraft at all. If this is low, the sheet is wrong or your category duplicates what is already available in your region.
Share that flew. Of those that fit.
And your time per request, including the ones that did not fly. The operator is paid the full flight at their usual rate: our intermediation is not deducted from what they charge.
When to conclude it is not working
If in ninety days nothing reached you that fit, the answer is usually your category against your region rather than the channel. Ask us directly; we will tell you which.
If requests arrived and none converted, look at your response time before anything else. It is the variable that explains most of these cases.
And if the work that converted was work you already had, through a lodge or an agency, the channel is inserting itself rather than adding. That one is grounds to stop. 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.
What we will not do at day 90
Ask you to give it more time as an argument. If the numbers say it is not producing, they say it. A San José–Tamarindo run at 97.1 nautical miles that never reached you is not evidence of patience being required. Operators we bring on evidence current certification, insurance and fleet documentation before receiving a first assignment.
Frequently asked questions
Why does nothing happen at first?
A request needs a passenger searching your route on a date you are free. None of that is scheduled.
Why do some requests not fit?
Because we match on category, not on a performance calculation we cannot make. A channel sending only perfect matches would be guessing.
What should I measure?
Requests received, share that fit, share that flew, and your time per request including refusals.
What if nothing fit in ninety days?
Usually your category against your region rather than the channel. Ask and we will tell you which.
What if requests arrived but none converted?
Look at response time first. It explains most of these cases.
What should I bring to the ninety-day conversation?
The four numbers. "It feels quiet" produces reassurance; "nine requests, four fit, one flew" produces a decision.
When should I stop?
When the converted work was work you already had. That is insertion, not addition.
Let us talk
Operators we bring on evidence current certification, insurance and fleet documentation before receiving a first assignment.