Membership
If you fly more than twice a month, quoting each leg is the slowest part of the journey. Members send a message and get a tail number back — no quote, no negotiation, no seasonal pricing.
One rate, fixed for twelve months, drawn down by the minute.
Three cards
The tiers differ in two things that matter: which aircraft you can call on, and how little notice you can give. Everything else — the desk, the crews, the safety file — is identical.
Rates are per block hour and include crew, fuel, landing and handling fees, and standard catering. Government taxes, de-icing and overnight crew costs outside East Africa are billed at cost with receipts.
Against the alternatives
| Flight by flight | Arabica membership | Owning an aircraft | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capital at risk | None | Hours purchased, refundable | Full asset value |
| Time to book | 1–4 hours | One message | Immediate |
| Price certainty | Quoted each time | Fixed 12 months | Fixed, plus variable ops |
| Aircraft choice | Whatever is free | Any in your tier | The one you own |
| When you don't fly | You pay nothing | Hours carry forward | Costs continue |
| Best if you fly | Under 15 hrs/yr | 15–120 hrs/yr | Over 250 hrs/yr |
The part nobody explains properly
You are prepaying for a service. That deserves a plain answer, not a clause on page nine.
Member funds are held in a segregated client account and drawn down only as flights are completed. They are not used for operating costs, and a statement is issued after every leg.
Unflown hours are refundable at any time after the first 90 days, less flights taken at the standard charter rate. There is no forfeiture date and no cancellation fee.
It does not, for twelve months from signature. Fuel surcharges, peak-day pricing and repositioning are inside the rate, not bolted on later.
Guaranteed availability means we source an equivalent aircraft at our cost, not yours. If we still cannot, the leg is credited back at 150% of the hours.
You, and the named travellers on your account, whether or not you are on board. Adding or removing a name takes one message.
A ten-page agreement in plain English. We will send it before you pay anything, and we expect you to have a lawyer read it.
Next step
Bring last year’s trips. We will tell you which tier fits, or that none of them do and you should keep booking flight by flight.