An owner has an aircraft that flies forty hours a year and costs the same as one that flies four hundred. An operator has demand and no capital. The arrangement is obvious enough that operators reach for it before understanding what they are taking on.
What the operator actually takes on
The aircraft on your certificate. Your approvals, your procedures, your responsibility for how it is operated and maintained. We run scheduled private flights across Central America; any other destination worldwide is coordinated on request.
Scheduling around somebody else's use. The owner flies when they want to, and their notice is whatever it is.
And a relationship with a person who owns an aeroplane. That is not a supplier relationship or a client relationship. It is closer to a partnership where one side has an emotional attachment to the asset.
The four things the agreement has to settle
Owner priority and notice. How much warning before the owner takes the aircraft, and what happens to a booking already confirmed. If this is unwritten, the first conflict decides it and it decides it badly.
Who pays for what. Maintenance, insurance, hangarage, and specifically the hourly reserves. A reserve held by the owner protects the owner; held by you it protects continuity. Either can be right, neither should be a default.
How charter revenue splits, and whether the operator's costs come out before or after. 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 what happens on exit. Owners sell aircraft, often with less notice than a business needs. An agreement without an exit clause leaves you having built demand around capacity that can vanish in a month.
Why the cheap capacity is not cheap
The utilisation is worse than a purchase. An owner-used aircraft is not available on the days the owner wants it, and those days correlate with demand — holidays, weekends, high season.
The scheduling cost is real. Every request needs a check against owner plans that may not be firm.
And the aircraft may not be the one you needed. Owners buy for their own reasons. A Drake Bay job at 83.5 nautical miles needs an aircraft that fits the field, and an owner's preference is not a fleet decision you made. The specific aircraft is assigned on confirmation, based on passenger count, baggage and the destination field.
When it works well
When the owner flies predictably and rarely. Four known weekends a year is a different proposition from occasional short notice.
When the aircraft fills a category gap rather than duplicating what you have.
And when the owner wants the flying reduced to a number. An owner whose goal is to offset cost is a good partner. One who wants to be involved in operations is a source of exactly the pressure that gets a flight launched on a day it should not be.
The question to settle before signing
Who decides whether a flight goes. The answer must be you, in writing, with no exception for the owner's own trips.
An owner who reserves the right to overrule a weather decision on their own aircraft has not offered you capacity. They have offered you the certificate risk of somebody else's judgement. Operators we bring on evidence current certification, insurance and fleet documentation before receiving a first assignment.
A San José–Tamarindo at 97.1 nautical miles is the same flight whoever owns the aircraft, and the decision belongs to whoever holds the certificate.
Frequently asked questions
What does the operator take on?
The aircraft on your certificate, scheduling around somebody else's use, and a relationship closer to a partnership than a supply deal.
What must the agreement settle?
Owner priority and notice, who pays for what including reserves, how revenue splits, and what happens on exit.
Why is the capacity not cheap?
Utilisation is worse, scheduling costs are real, and the aircraft may not be the one you needed.
When does it work well?
When the owner flies predictably and rarely, fills a category gap, and wants the flying reduced to a number.
Which owner is a problem?
One who wants to be involved in operations. That is the source of pressure to launch on a day you should not.
What must be settled before signing?
Who decides whether a flight goes. It must be you, in writing, with no exception for the owner's own trips.
Let us talk
Operators we bring on evidence current certification, insurance and fleet documentation before receiving a first assignment.