Quick question - how much does your LF drop by at the low end of the 6 month Cycle? I am seeing a 3-4% dip in the last 2 weeks on Ellinikon due to the drop.
And how does you prepare for it?
If you have a perfect hub-and-spoke model, it definitely hurt less than randomly scheduled flights. It also helps if you have a domestic market to rely on.
Don't do big investments during low agex and make sure you have a pile of cash as reserve.
Like Unbr0se said, having a good hub and spoke system and safe money is a good way to survive a low AGEX
I also think that a low AGEX is a good opportunity to grow / improve your airline. I know this may sound stupid at first, but there are a number of reasons why it might work.
A lot of airline have to reduce number/size of their planes. This normally drops the Leasing Prices on the market. It is also a perfect time to further “attack” your opponents, by using the slots they might give away by reducing their number of flights.
If you are lucky they might even go bankrupt and you can fill in the gap
But most important is to save money during a high AGEX so you can afford all this
Sort of a newb question here, but what values are considered "high AGEX" and what values are considered "low AGEX"
Sort of a newb question here, but what values are considered "high AGEX" and what values are considered "low AGEX"
At least how I think it is:
600-800 low
800-950 medium
950-1100 high
People may think differently about the values, but that’s how I see it. I haven’t seen an agex lower than 690 if I recall correctly.
I confirm what Banff and Unbr0se say
If you have a hub and spoke model, your airline will resist better than the others, I experimented this very often, and right now on Quimby VI where I can see in the market analysis that my direct competitors suffer (those whe schedule flights randomly)
The hours of departure and arrival are one of the most important thing in the game, I think
I have both hub and spoke and OD. After doing research it seems my Hub is fine but the OD is dropping
What about your image ?
Go to the staff management tab and look if their mood is ok. Generally I pay them 30% over the market to get a perfect image
At least how I think it is:
600-800 low
800-950 medium
950-1100 high
People may think differently about the values, but that’s how I see it. I haven’t seen an agex lower than 690 if I recall correctly.
I have played with agex at 660 last year in Stapleton. Demand for business class is reduced considerably and economy class was filled with connecting passengers as OD demand was dwindling. Thankfully my hub worked and I hope this time around it work once again.
Staff Image is perfect as well
Quick questions for the longer term players -
How important is AGEX and do you have you plan for when the dip comes? I often see bigger airlines parking up several planes over the low Agex period - is that coincidence?
What's the highest AGEX you have ever seen?
What’s the lowest AGEX you have ever seen?
Highest around 1170, lowest around 690
I don't think big airlines will park their aircraft during low AGEX. They have tons of cash anyway. When you have 1 billion dollars, losing 100 million wont be too bothering. They will keep the airlines running and wait for the AGEX to rise up. Besides, to park some of aircrafts just because of low AGEX, will be time consuming
Quick questions for the longer term players -
How important is AGEX and do you have you plan for when the dip comes? I often see bigger airlines parking up several planes over the low Agex period - is that coincidence?
What's the highest AGEX you have ever seen?
What’s the lowest AGEX you have ever seen?
.
Never parked any aircraft. Even though the flight is quarter full, it still contribute to the whole network. Having billions sitting in the bank might help though.
Might as well keep the routes and use the slots, once it's gone it won't come back.
Low AGEX can also create opportunities if for some reason either a airline go under or traffic is reduced and thus slots released.
Anyway: Never waste a good crisis ;)