Looking for some advice

English Boards Community Support
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Hello everyone,

I have been playing AS for almost 9 months now, and have recently (about 8 weeks old) started a successful airline. I was looking for advice on a few questions.

I have read repeatedly not to start long haul flights too soon, however I don’t know exactly how soon “too soon” is. I have 20 aircraft, 10 regional jets (CRJ 900’s) and 10 turboprops (Q100’s). My profit margins are stable at 20%+ and my load factor is over 95%. I want to start longer flights because the domestic market is heavily saturated.

I found a few routes from my hub (a medium sized city) that have no direct flight to Hawaii. The route I’m interested in is direct HNL from my hub, a distance of just over 6,000km.

The second question I have is, If I should start this route what type aircraft I should use? I cant afford a 787 (nor likely fill it) and the 767-200’s seem to be fairly inefficient on a per seat basis. The 737-900ER looks like a good match for the route, but has a 4 month backorder. To expand upon my dilemma, should I wait 4 months for the 739ER, try for a used 767, or save for a couple months for the 787?

Im not looking for definitive answers, just advice based on what people have tried in the past, and what things worked for them. Also I know there is no “fits all” rule, but generally how many people per day should you be transporting before considering long haul flights? Thanks everyone for for the long post.

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4 month backorder for the 739ER? It’s 21 hours…

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There is no Backorder in Airlinesim except for yourself. You can Order a 737-900ER and it will be deliverd to you within 21 hrs. If you would oder a 2nd one that would be then delivered in 42 hrs and so on ... but you don't have to wait until other players get their Orders first ..

The 737-900ER is a very good plane and I think it would suite you better then a 787 or 767 since they are quite large.

The advice I can give you is not to start Intercontinental flights if you have less then 1000 to 1500 departures at your hub per day. If you are already located in the US then it is a domestic flight and you can try. I have tried to fly to HNL in Meigs and I have a very big network there but for me it was always very difficult flying there so if you make a decision to fly to HNL also have a plan if it is not working what you can do next.

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Thanks Ben I appreciate the advice.

My current departures are around 300. I think ill probably wait and build up my domestic/feeder market a bit more then.

I didn’t realize that the backorders work that way. Someone on my server ordered around 100 of them so I had just scrolled to the bottom and read the date some time in April haha. Im glad it doesn’t work that way. Seems like the 739ER would be the best place to start then. Now I just have to figure out the best way to configure it )