Operators postpone rate increases until the margin is already gone, then raise too much at once and lose accounts over a number that would have been accepted in stages. The problem is almost never the amount. It is the timing and the telling.
What justifies one
Your own costs, evidenced. Fuel, insurance renewal, maintenance reserves that turned out to be too low. These are checkable and counterparties accept them.
A capability that changed. A different aircraft, a field you now serve, a certificate scope you extended.
And utilisation that says you are the constraint. If you are refusing work for capacity reasons, the market is telling you the rate is under-set. The specific aircraft is assigned on confirmation, based on passenger count, baggage and the destination field.
What does not justify one: a good year, a competitor's price, or a feeling that you are underpaid. The first is a result, the second is unknowable, and the third is not an argument you can make to anyone.
When to do it
Once a year, on a date. The same month each time, so counterparties can plan and so the conversation becomes routine rather than an event.
Announced before the season, effective after it. A lodge building next year's packages needs your number before they publish theirs — an increase that lands after they have quoted their guests is a cost they cannot pass on, and they will remember which of those two things you did.
And never mid-programme. A DMC running a week with your aircraft in it is not the moment.
By how much
Small and regular beats large and rare.
An operator who has not moved in four years faces a correction large enough to trigger a review of the whole relationship. One who moves modestly each year is adjusting a number nobody reopens. 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.
There is a second reason to move annually even when you do not need to. A counterparty who has never seen you raise a rate has no idea how you handle it, and the first time will therefore be judged on tone rather than on arithmetic — which is a worse position than being the operator whose January letter is expected.
Who to tell first
Your highest-volume counterparty, before anyone else and in a conversation rather than a notice. They will hear it from somewhere, and hearing it second is the part that damages.
Then corporate accounts, because their procurement needs lead time and possibly a contract amendment. 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.
Then everyone else, in writing, with the effective date and what is unchanged.
What to say
The reason, in one line. The new figure. The date. What has not changed — the waiting rule, the baggage limits, the cancellation terms.
That last part matters more than operators expect. A San José–Tamarindo at 97.1 nautical miles at a new rate with everything else identical is a price change; the same letter without it reads as a renegotiation and invites one.
Who to exempt, deliberately
Work already quoted and not yet flown. Honour it. The cost is small and the alternative is the only version of this that generates a complaint.
And, if you choose, a counterparty in the middle of a committed programme — but decide that deliberately rather than because it is awkward to raise it, and put an end date on the exemption. Operators we bring on evidence current certification, insurance and fleet documentation before receiving a first assignment.
An exemption without an end date is a permanent rate you gave away in a moment of discomfort.
Frequently asked questions
What justifies a rate increase?
Evidenced cost increases, a changed capability, or refusing work for capacity reasons.
What does not?
A good year, a competitor's price, or a feeling you are underpaid.
When should it take effect?
Announced before the season and effective after it. An increase landing after a lodge has quoted its guests cannot be passed on.
Small and regular or large and rare?
Small and regular. A four-year correction triggers a review of the whole relationship.
Who hears it first?
Your highest-volume counterparty, in a conversation. Hearing it second is the part that damages.
What should I exempt?
Work already quoted and not flown. Any other exemption needs an end date, or it is a permanent rate given away.
Let us talk
Operators we bring on evidence current certification, insurance and fleet documentation before receiving a first assignment.