An operator deciding whether to list should be able to answer one question before signing anything: where does this platform's money come from? If the answer is vague, that is the answer.
The three models, and how to tell them apart
Listing fee. You pay to appear, whether or not you fly. The platform's revenue is independent of your results, which means it has no strong incentive to send you good requests — only to sign more operators.
Lead fee. You pay per enquiry received. Better aligned than the first, but it still pays the platform when the enquiry does not fly, and it rewards volume over quality.
Watch for the hybrid: a small listing fee plus a lead fee, each low enough to look reasonable and together adding up to a fixed monthly cost regardless of whether you flew.
Transaction-based. The platform earns when a flight happens. Its incentive is that the flight happens and that it goes well, because a cancelled or botched job pays nobody.
Which one we are
Transaction-based. The operator is paid the full flight at their usual rate: our intermediation is not deducted from what they charge.
There is no charge to appear and no charge per enquiry. If you receive twelve requests and fly none, we have earned nothing from you, and that is the arrangement working as intended rather than a bad month for us to fix by changing the rules.
How the money actually moves
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.
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 figure you quote is the figure that reaches you. Our margin sits on top of it, not inside it, which is why your pricing arithmetic stays yours.
What this means in practice
No fixed cost for you. Listing an aircraft you rarely fly costs nothing, so there is no reason to delist in a slow quarter.
And no reason for us to send you a request you cannot do. A Drake Bay job at 83.5 nautical miles sent to an aircraft that does not fit the field wastes your afternoon and earns us nothing. That alignment is structural, not a promise. Operators we bring on evidence current certification, insurance and fleet documentation before receiving a first assignment.
The uncomfortable side
It means we need volume to work as a business. An operator is entitled to ask whether a platform that earns only on completed flights has enough of them to survive, because a channel that folds mid-year is worse than one you never joined.
Ask us the number. A platform that will not tell you how many operators and how many completed flights it has is telling you something.
It is a fair question in both directions. We ask you for a current certificate and a policy before sending work; you are entitled to ask what stands behind the channel that sends it.
What we will not do
Introduce a listing fee quietly. If the model ever changed, it would be said here and in writing to every listed operator before it applied.
And charge for a flight that did not happen. A San José–Tamarindo of 97.1 nautical miles cancelled on weather earns nobody anything, including us.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a fee to list?
No. No charge to appear and no charge per enquiry.
How do you earn then?
On completed flights. The operator is paid the full flight at their usual rate: our intermediation is not deducted from what they charge.
What if I receive requests and fly none?
We have earned nothing from you. That is the arrangement working as intended.
Does your margin come out of my rate?
No. The figure you quote is the figure that reaches you; our margin sits on top.
Why does the model matter to me?
Because a listing fee pays the platform for signing operators, not for sending you flights that happen.
What should I watch for in other models?
The hybrid: a small listing fee plus a lead fee, each low enough to look reasonable and together a fixed monthly cost whether you flew or not.
Could this change?
If it ever did, it would be said here and in writing to every listed operator before it applied.
Let us talk
Operators we bring on evidence current certification, insurance and fleet documentation before receiving a first assignment.