More Money?

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1

Hi,

I've been playing this game on and off for a while trying to get a successful airline. And finally after much time and goes, I think i finally have one! Its been going for 1 month and a half. I currently have 9 aircraft in my fleet. I wish to expand as theres a big gap in the market which i think would work well for me. The only trouble is i only have 3.4 million and dont think this would be enough to require more aircraft. My question is, do i just have to wait? until i have more money? i've looked into loans and people say not to bother? I need some investment, or do i just simply have to wait? 

Cheers.

2

Hi,

I've been playing this game on and off for a while trying to get a successful airline. And finally after much time and goes, I think i finally have one! Its been going for 1 month and a half. I currently have 9 aircraft in my fleet. I wish to expand as theres a big gap in the market which i think would work well for me. The only trouble is i only have 3.4 million and dont think this would be enough to require more aircraft. My question is, do i just have to wait? until i have more money? i've looked into loans and people say not to bother? I need some investment, or do i just simply have to wait? 

Cheers.

What aircraft do you currently operate ?

3

wait and grow. this is a game for months, not for days.

also, with 3.4 million in cash, depending on desired aircraft you can easily get at least one more, if not two.

@fanboy: he's operating dash 8-300, E145s, and E175 (not really good choices UNLESS you got great deals on the used market)

4

wait and grow. this is a game for months, not for days.

also, with 3.4 million in cash, depending on desired aircraft you can easily get at least one more, if not two.

@fanboy: he's operating dash 8-300, E145s, and E175 (not really good choices UNLESS you got great deals on the used market)

should i change aircraft? what would you recommend?

5

should i change aircraft? what would you recommend?

Yes, if you do not have them at great deals. What worries me the most is that you have 3 different aircraft types at such an early stage. 

I will give you a bit of an explanation of those planes:

  • Dash8-300, This is a great plane if you can get it cheap and want to expand quickly but I would rather invest in ATRs as you have 2 different variants.
  • E145s, These planes are good if you do not really to make money, for example if you want to fly a low demand route just to get more connections, if you want to extend your coverage, or if you just want your competitors to have a more painful time (I am planning to start an airlines using these just to destroy for one of my largest competitors). If the CRJ-200 would still have been in production then I will not have mentioned anything good about the ERJs.
  • E175 A completely rubbish aircraft useless for every market you fly it in, the only reason to have it might be if you already operate the E195 (great plane) and you do not want to add another maintenance category but even in that situation I would not operate them.

I could offer more help if you tell me what the name of your airline is and what market you are planning to operate in.

6

I fully agree with CBE (always assuming you don't get an incredible good deal on the used market and keeping maintenance categories in mind)

you might want to have a look at this: http://community.airlinesim.aero/topic/8123-as-for-beginners-an-attempted-blog/

7

Yes, if you do not have them at great deals. What worries me the most is that you have 3 different aircraft types at such an early stage. 

I will give you a bit of an explanation of those planes:

  • Dash8-300, This is a great plane if you can get it cheap and want to expand quickly but I would rather invest in ATRs as you have 2 different variants.
  • E145s, These planes are good if you do not really to make money, for example if you want to fly a low demand route just to get more connections, if you want to extend your coverage, or if you just want your competitors to have a more painful time (I am planning to start an airlines using these just to destroy for one of my largest competitors). If the CRJ-200 would still have been in production then I will not have mentioned anything good about the ERJs.
  • E175 A completely rubbish aircraft useless for every market you fly it in, the only reason to have it might be if you already operate the E195 (great plane) and you do not want to add another maintenance category but even in that situation I would not operate them.

I could offer more help if you tell me what the name of your airline is and what market you are planning to operate in.

Hi, thanks for the reply! The name of my airline is Kasbah Airlines. I operate domestic services and local connections. I plan to operate more international regular flights and become more international with a bigger fleet. Other than like the irregular flights that I have now. 

8

Yes, if you do not have them at great deals. What worries me the most is that you have 3 different aircraft types at such an early stage. 

I will give you a bit of an explanation of those planes:

  • Dash8-300, This is a great plane if you can get it cheap and want to expand quickly but I would rather invest in ATRs as you have 2 different variants.
  • E145s, These planes are good if you do not really to make money, for example if you want to fly a low demand route just to get more connections, if you want to extend your coverage, or if you just want your competitors to have a more painful time (I am planning to start an airlines using these just to destroy for one of my largest competitors). If the CRJ-200 would still have been in production then I will not have mentioned anything good about the ERJs.
  • E175 A completely rubbish aircraft useless for every market you fly it in, the only reason to have it might be if you already operate the E195 (great plane) and you do not want to add another maintenance category but even in that situation I would not operate them.

I could offer more help if you tell me what the name of your airline is and what market you are planning to operate in.

I basically have never been in the position where my airline has survived and done well before so I'm unsure what i need to do ahah.

9

Hi, thanks for the reply! The name of my airline is Kasbah Airlines. I operate domestic services and local connections. I plan to operate more international regular flights and become more international with a bigger fleet. Other than like the irregular flights that I have now. 

What server may I ask?

10

Can't you see his signature? Devau

11

I took a look at your airline and the situation on Devau. I can see that there are quite many CR7s on the market which is the right size plane if you ask me I also see that there are quite a lot of cheap A319s and A320s so those might also be an option. Though I took a look and I also saw that Sparrow Air is leasing out lot of cheap Fokker 100s and Fokker 70s for under 9000AS$ so they would be my choice if I were you and I wanted to expand quickly with a tight budget. For that money it does not even matter if the plane is 100% full as they are very cheap in leasing and the Fokkers are good planes generally. There are also some 757s which might be attractive.

Your market is connecting Europe (especially France, Italy and Spain) with north Africa. As slots do not seem to be a problem I do not see why not to operate a lot CRJ-700 in order to extend your coverage. You will also need a very well functioning wave system with atleast 3 daily waves from the beginning.

I also see that you have an enormous number of ILs which are pretty much useless at this stage and many of them are redundant and drain you a lot of money. I would kindly terminate many of the redundant ILs and wright a kind message to all of them airlines explaining why you terminated the IL and that you would be interested to IL in the future when your finances are better, though keep the most important ILs. Also remember to not get more than 3 maintenance categories (absolute max 4).

To conclude this: I belive that you should take the cheap Fokker 70s and Fokker 100s for now and later expand with CRJs and when slots get rare then change the CRJs to A320 or 737s.

@highscore Yes I can see it now thank you.

12

I took a look at your airline and the situation on Devau. I can see that there are quite many CR7s on the market which is the right size plane if you ask me I also see that there are quite a lot of cheap A319s and A320s so those might also be an option. Though I took a look and I also saw that Sparrow Air is leasing out lot of cheap Fokker 100s and Fokker 70s for under 9000AS$ so they would be my choice if I were you and I wanted to expand quickly with a tight budget. For that money it does not even matter if the plane is 100% full as they are very cheap in leasing and the Fokkers are good planes generally. There are also some 757s which might be attractive.

Your market is connecting Europe (especially France, Italy and Spain) with north Africa. As slots do not seem to be a problem I do not see why not to operate a lot CRJ-700 in order to extend your coverage. You will also need a very well functioning wave system with atleast 3 daily waves from the beginning.

I also see that you have an enormous number of ILs which are pretty much useless at this stage and many of them are redundant and drain you a lot of money. I would kindly terminate many of the redundant ILs and wright a kind message to all of them airlines explaining why you terminated the IL and that you would be interested to IL in the future when your finances are better, though keep the most important ILs. Also remember to not get more than 3 maintenance categories (absolute max 4).

To conclude this: I belive that you should take the cheap Fokker 70s and Fokker 100s for now and later expand with CRJs and when slots get rare then change the CRJs to A320 or 737s.

@highscore Yes I can see it now thank you.

Ok thank you very much for the help!!

I've cancelled the emb 175 and in the process of cancelling some of the IL. Does the age of the aircarft matter? All I'm away of is that it affects the rating?

13

You preferably want aircraft to be under 5 years of age... if you are starting up, even 10 years is good in order to get relatively cheap aircraft and decent image. But you shoud try to keep your fleet under 5 years of age. Some will tell you 2.5 years, but I have had same great results with 3-4 year old aircraft, and frequently 2-3 year old aircraft can be found as a bargain on the used market.

14

I'm not sure whether there any more Md80/90s on your market. those are also good aircraft for start up. I'm not sure i will agree with Rubio on the age problem. If you are starting up, my experience is just keeping any aircraft under 25-30 yrs. It cost much less to get them, and the booking will be fine if you don't have a competitor keep you out of business intentionally. I see a lot of players did the same thing on my server including myself and everyone got a great result. Fokker 70/100 is also a good choice for your regional flights (don't use 28 though). 

I think the ageing problem shouldn't be your main concern until you run your company after half year. new planes will save your money on maintenance, but if you only have three or four types of planes, you won't have too much difference.

15

I'm not sure whether there any more Md80/90s on your market. those are also good aircraft for start up. I'm not sure i will agree with Rubio on the age problem. If you are starting up, my experience is just keeping any aircraft under 25-30 yrs. It cost much less to get them, and the booking will be fine if you don't have a competitor keep you out of business intentionally. I see a lot of players did the same thing on my server including myself and everyone got a great result. Fokker 70/100 is also a good choice for your regional flights (don't use 28 though). 

I think the ageing problem shouldn't be your main concern until you run your company after half year. new planes will save your money on maintenance, but if you only have three or four types of planes, you won't have too much difference.

It is a lot more to it than just saying "put a plane on the route and bookings will be fine".

16

Hi,

I agree with CBE (routes and IL's) and with George (planes).

Fokkers and DC9's may be excellent planes, but they are old. That means higher fuel consumption, more maintenance costs and lower image for your airline. If a plane is between 2.5 and 5 years old, you only loose one green bar for "age".

You could start with crappy old planes, in order to grow fast. If you have enough character to stop growing and replace the planes after six months. And even then you will drag your low image with you during the coming years.

Jan

17

You can definitely manage to keep green bars using MD80/90s. I'm not saying using DC9s, because they are way too old for you to get a good image. you can have better service, more flights attendants... age is not the only factor for your image. i transfer all my MD80/90s to Tanah Air Service. the airline only runs Tu154, MD80/90s including DC9s, and Yak 40. the image of the company is now two green bars and growing. Md80s are really my workforce when i started my Aero Southern, and i have never got a red bar image.  in fact i don't have any aircraft under 10 yrs ago until half year. The seat i used was just 'Leisure Plus' when i started. i didn't use comfort seats until i started to upgrade my planes into 737s. if you want to be sure you have a good image, use 'comfort' seat on md80/90s. my experience is if you keep the plane under 25 yrs, you will be able to get green bars. easy job

18

You can definitely manage to keep green bars using MD80/90s. I'm not saying using DC9s, because they are way too old for you to get a good image. you can have better service, more flights attendants... age is not the only factor for your image. i transfer all my MD80/90s to Tanah Air Service. the airline only runs Tu154, MD80/90s including DC9s, and Yak 40. the image of the company is now two green bars and growing. Md80s are really my workforce when i started my Aero Southern, and i have never got a red bar image.  in fact i don't have any aircraft under 10 yrs ago until half year. The seat i used was just 'Leisure Plus' when i started. i didn't use comfort seats until i started to upgrade my planes into 737s. if you want to be sure you have a good image, use 'comfort' seat on md80/90s. my experience is if you keep the plane under 25 yrs, you will be able to get green bars. easy job

When you finally have replaced all aircraft with new ones then your image will change within weeks. I got from 1 bar to 5 bars in about 3 weeks.

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When you finally have replaced all aircraft with new ones then your image will change within weeks. I got from 1 bar to 5 bars in about 3 weeks.

The point i want to make is i didn't get red bars before i replaced the aircraft. I know using new aircraft is popular in AS and it works great, but i'm just giving some suggestions based on my experience. it may take more effort to keep green bars by using old airplanes, but it's possible. 

I actually didn't have any airlines got five greens so far, so i will definitely agree with your plan with new aircraft

20

Of course I cannot tell much because that would be revealing my business model, but there are some factors to consider. New planes can get you image in high 80s low 90s in after just couple of weeks. That image can actually help you with up to 20 percent margin over default price depending on severe class seat and service, while still maintaining the same flight rating. In other words a brand new 320 with a good seat and service and excellent image, can draw up to 20 percent increase in price over default depending on the class of service. Of course its not that simple as just increasing the price with new aircraft, but the point is, age makes a huge difference for image, and image makes a huge difference for flight rating.

2 green bars is like image 20 to 40. That’s peanuts in image rating compared to 90 you can get with new aircraft.

You can start with old aircraft and then switch to new ones but your image will drag you down. My USA airline started with old MD80s and 737 classics and I started to switch at like 250 planes, with image at around 30, now 14 months later and 1100 new planes more, the image is still only in low to mid 80s (5 green bars). Those old planes and low image will drag you down forever. Compare that with a sub, new planes, no terminals, image in the low 90s after two weeks.

If you want to start with old planes, by all means do that because you can get a lot of connections. But find a point where you need to stop growing and start replacing, you may need to stop the growth for a month while you replace, but the money saved on maintenance will pay for your leases of new planes. It will. And best if you reschedule into a new sub.

Remember, all the past image ratings as a result of all flights in the past form part of the current rating. If you have a flight with image rating 1, no matter what you do and how many flights with image 99 you fly, you will still have lower average image than somebody who has a flight with image rating 10, or 20 or 30, plus the 99 image rating flights. That’s just math.

P.S. You cannot get red bars in airline image. Even a 50 year old plane will make you one green bar of image for your airline, because 0 is absolute minimum, and anything flying gives you an image rating higher than 0. The difference is between 0.01 and 99.9, though.