Is there anything I can attempt to do to get more pax besides just sit and wait? I am running out of money and Ive already lowered prices. Not sure what more I can do aside from just hope that people start booking.
If not Ill have to start over for a 3rd time. Maybe Im just not getting this game.
Actually it has taken me more than 3 times to get this game and to finally survive my first month, so there is nothing wrong on your side. That is just called learning!
To answer you question:
Since you already lowered prices, the only thing that comes to my mind is working on the inflight services. All other adjustments would require some capital and time.
Maybe you are just using the wrong planes, the wrong cabin layout, maybe you are flying the wrong routes or you don’t have enough possibilities for connecting flights. But for these adjustments you would probably have to restart once more.
The best advice I can give you is to look at what others do, especially the successful ones. Even though one can also learn from others’ failures…
My bookings are going up slightly. I was booking 3/120 pax, and now Im at 8/120 - then i lowered prices, and im now at 0/120 lol (for one example)
Maybe it’s just not a route with popular demand. Try a different destination and perhaps after you build up your hub, try flying there again. Also, Interline is very important, especially if their hub is the airport you’re flying to. I think I restarted more than 4 or 5 times. However, each time I restarted, I tried different routes and note down the ones that always gives me a full flight. After a while, I was able to know which route is good and which ones are bad so when I finally restarted the last time, I started on those routes and then you will be profitable in your first week.
The demand is maxed out. But there is a ton of competition. Im assuming I am getting killed by IL’s.
first of all, be aware that demand calculations take place only once every 24 hours for each airport. you can find the time for that calculation on the airport info page.
secondly, any changes you make to an already existing flight only come into effect 3 days delayed.
if you want to see the changes take places faster and only have like 5 pax on all flights, you could cancel all those flights, change the flight schedule slightly and activate the schedule again without delay, however, not only do you have to pay a compensation to all pax of flights that are being cancelled, but activating without delay means only one demand calculation => most likely few passengers.
and here some more, less theoretical, reasons for why you don’t get pax.
no transfer pax: you fly from MSP to cancun, ORD and MCO. while maybe you might get transfer pax at MSP to/from ORD, but since ORD is a major destinations, most likely, there are direct connections from ORD to Cancun and MCO (you serve the latter yourself). you should try to establish a regional network. MSP is a major destination as well, so it is connected fairly good to all other major destinations. create transfer pax by connecting to all those small midwestern cities.
no direct pax: DH4s only have a popularity rating of +2. the reason they are still competitive is the low costs, but you will have to offer seats at a reduced price compared to jet engines.
the BAE / HS 748 went out of production in '84, this is a very old (=high maintenance costs and time) and unpopular (=-5) a/c. I don’t see how this could be an option on the pax market.
the 739ER BGW is good, the 737 HGW however uses way too much fuel. you should go for the 737 BGW.
last but not least: way too much capacity available on the MSP-MCO route. hardly anyone fills his planes.
Yea. Starting to come to the conclusion this game/server might just be too much to figure out. A game shouldnt require restarting 4-5 times and from the sounds of it, MANY MANY people have messaged me saying they have had to restart 5-6 times.
As much as Ive read or been told, I am just not getting the concept of transfer passengers. How do I see these transfer pax? How do I know they wont hop on someone elses flight?
As far as a/c - I dont have a DH4 anymore. The BAE / HS 748 is used specifically for cargo. The only a/c of mine that does anything is the Bombardier Q400A from MSP to Ohare and back. However even my cargo planes dont even get any bookings.
I usually have no issues figuring out these types of games, but this one is damn confusing.
I sincerely appreciate all of your help. Back to the drawing board for me.
I’m more than happy to guide you through everything. If you want my email/skype, pm me.
First time I tried, spent an hour on the phone with a friend who guided me through it. Sort of got the hang of it, then experimented with things for a little while. Then I only had to restart once and went up to 850 aircraft.
Saad