Start up help

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Hello all.  I have some questions.  I'm not new to the game.  I understand the basics and the fundamentals.  I just have a question from the more experienced users on actually getting set up and running.  I'm currently playing on Quimby, Gatow, and Fornebu.  On Quimby, I'm doing pretty decent (it's actually the first airline that I've created that isn't LOSING money, so it's decent by my standards).  I would be content just playing on Quimby and allowing my ~1,200,000 weekly profits add up and investing that money, BUT we all know that's a temporary world.  I want to get set up and established on a world where my airline can stick around for awhile.  I know that's asking a lot, but I've got more time than anything.

Here are my goals/visions/aspirations/hopes (in no particular order):

1. Get established on a permanent server (I don't care which one)

2. Successfully start a US based airline.  I don't care what city or destinations, I just want my headquarters to be in the US, so I can have US traffic rights.  I ultimately want to grow into a major US airline.  Again, I know this is asking for a lot and I know it'll take a long time to accomplish.  

3. Gain a weekly net profit.  At this point I'm not too worried about gaining a certain profit percentage or anything like that.  At this point, as long as I'm not LOSING money, I'm happy.

4. I would like to try to use only airplanes that are used by US airlines.... Embraer, Bombardier/Dash, Boeing, Airbus, and McDonnell-Douglas. I'm not too particular on the specific aircraft type, as long as it's used by an American airline.  

5. (LONG term goal) is to set up subsidiaries

My airlines are "Patriot Holdings" on Quimby and "Badger Airlines Corporation" on both Gatow and Fornebu.  I'm open to restarting either Gatow or Fornebu or starting on another world.  Any tips and advice would be GREATLY appreciated.  I know y'all are geniuses when it comes to this game, and I'd very much appreciate the help.  

Thank you so much!!! 

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Fornebu is one of the worst servers to try to start/grow an airline at this time, because AGEX is at very low 750 points.

I would suggest you set up a test airline on each server, go to markets and exchanges and write down AGEX, then go to Statistics/Countries/USA and see how many passengers are being transported. Then check the passenger capacity or USA on that server. After you check that out, do not forget to deactivate your account on that server.

Once you found out this information, do a comparative analysis on where it would be best to start.

You should be looking on a server with lowest amount of passengers transported per week, which is not too different from capacity being offered, and with AGEX in the mid-900's at least, and with leveled or growing tendency. You do not want to set up anywhere with AGEX under 800 (Fornebu would be one) we are seeing the lowest demand in the past 6 months now.

So you compare pax capacity transported and offered, and AGEX. You will see then which server is best positioned for your airline. Then, make a list of 2-3 servers that are best for you, and go looking for slots. You can go into "Start New Enterprise" and at Headquerters just keep changing airport codes for major USA airports. It will tell you how any % of free slots are there at those airports. You may want to do this for 20-30 major US airports so you get a feeling for the situation on that server. You may find out that the second or third server in your preference list is best suited and not the first one ... so just do your research. After that, just set up your airline and start flying!

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Thank you.  I will definitely try the tips you suggested.  What exactly is the AGEX?  I've seen that mentioned a few times in numerous forums, but that's one concept I haven't been able to grasp.  

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I've found how to get the passenger statistics for the server, but not for a specific country.  How do you do that?  When I go to the country page of the US, I just see the national average salaries.  

Edit:  I answered this question myself.  

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If I was you:

1: Pick an airport which as at least 7 bars demand.

2: Start with a plane which is not too big, like a Bombardier CRJ700. Only use one aircraft family in the beginning. Once figured out which routes has a lot of demand you can always lease bigger planes or add more of the same planes on the routes. Never get more than three different aircraft families, especially in the beginning and mid-term of the game.

3: Start interlining with other companies. If you have a flight from St. Louis to Mexico City. Make sure you are interlining with a company based in Mexico City so you can transfer your passengers onto his aircrafts. This will also result in a higher Seat Load Factor for you.

4: Make sure you have good onboard service (at least 4 bars if you ask me). Make sure not to offer more than necessary! If you only fly routes with a maximum of 1500 km. It makes no sense that your onboard services are still 5 bars green at 4500km. It will only cost you (big) money).

5: Increase the staff mood of your employees by raise their salaries significantly (like with 100%). Once the staff mood has the full 5 green bars (might take one or two weeks), reduce the salaries back to the average country rate PLUS $20,-. Remember, that if your salary is lower than average, the staff mood will drop again.

6: Pick yourself a good maintenance contractor BEFORE scheduling your flights. I personally like African Maintenance Systems. They are expensive, but high efficiency results that your planes can fly longer (and thus more routes).

7: Get some proper cabin configuration. Do not fly with standard seats as they are no good for your ORS scoring. I prefer to fly at least Leisure or Leisure Plus for short haul flights. But if your flights are not booked while competition has their flights fully booked, you might want to consider increasing your seats (as goes for onboard service).

8: Start with short haul flights and find some good money making routes. The route management tool and flight schedule (from an particular airport) can help you find out which routes are popular and which are not.  

9: Make sure that in the beginning, all routes are making profit. 

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You can find those in the Statistics page.

The AGEX is basically the economic indicator. You can find it in the Stock Market page. A high AGEX, meaning over 900 or so, means more passenger demand in general. A lower score means a smaller demand. It's a nice thing to keep an eye on when you are setting up an airline, but it's not the end-all-be-all. One of the first things you should know is there is no single magic trick, no single key thing that will ensure you have a successful airline. There are many.

You seem to be pretty set on doing a US airline, which is okay. It's not easy, especially when you are talking about an established server, but you can do it. It's been done.. not by me, but by others. My successful airline I started at the beginning of Aspern and I spent many hours working on it to get it to the position it's at now. Because of that, my best piece of advice is to do what I did -- spend a few months working on old servers and figuring out what works and what doesn't, and when a new server comes up, jump in and get going then. At the beginning of a server, you have your choice of hubs, and can put what you learned before to work for you.

Quimby is a great tool for new players to use. There's double slots, no restrictions, and all aircraft are open to be purchased/leased.

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I second the advice about avoiding Fornebu for the interim- AGEX is causing blood on the wall right now.

It took me a few restarts, but by far the best advice is patience. I think in Fornebu we may have just lost one of the biggish US players who was based in either CLT or RDU, so there may be some opportunity there (but... be prepared to struggle with a low AGEX for the next little while).

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Why are people avoiding servers with low AGEX? It's a perfect start!!

Lots of companies going bankrupt, which means:

Lots of availble used aircraft

Lots of slots available at major airport

Lots of major airports, without airlines using it as a hub

You dont overshoot - if your planes are full at 750, you’ll never create too much capacity!

Go ahead, use Fornebu. Or Idlewild for that matter. Find a semi-large airport, like Cairo. It’s often kinda empty, but have a huge potential for flights all over the world!

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Why are people avoiding servers with low AGEX? It's a perfect start!!

Lots of companies going bankrupt, which means:

Lots of availble used aircraft

Lots of slots available at major airport

Lots of major airports, without airlines using it as a hub

You dont overshoot - if your planes are full at 750, you’ll never create too much capacity!

Go ahead, use Fornebu. Or Idlewild for that matter. Find a semi-large airport, like Cairo. It’s often kinda empty, but have a huge potential for flights all over the world!

I do not quite agree with this. Airlines are taking countermeasures and I highly doubt we will see a major bankruptcy on Fornebu.

Actually, a decently managed huge airline is at advantage over a small startup. While it has many loss making routes, it also has huge amount of profitable routes that make up for a loss. A badly managed airline, that is other case. Bud badly managed airline can go belly up even with high Agex, as has been seen on Tempelhof.

Advising someone to go play on a world where Agex is so low and decreasing is nuts. On the other hand, starting when it starts to pick up, is another matter But I think we are at least a month or more away from that, based on what I see form a history. It will still go down somewhat, then level in the valley, and then start picking up again. But anybody trying to start an airline on a server with so low Agex and still going down would be hard pressed to make a profitable airline, especially a beginner who does not know the inner workings of the systems and the "tricks" necessary to survive the low demand period.

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Hey ArmySoldier,

You could start on Croydon, as the AGEX is around 925. Although the US has several big airlines, the large airline in France is losing money rapidly, as the person who runs it is inactive. Also, Japan is filled with small airlines and the same guy who owns an airline France, has an airline there which is crumbling. However if you look around some countries, i'm sure you'l find a few free countries. I have seen lots of airlines start in the US that have been very successful, so it is an option.

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rubiohiguey2000, a matter of opinion or temper I think! I have had very succesful starts, on servers with low agex - finding airports with recent bankruptcies. It might require some more experience though, I dont know. Maybe it's only good for more experienced players, like you and I.

Although from my experience, I have seen some huge airlines bankrupting, because they have grown too fast, and they are too big a ship to turn around :slight_smile:

Edit: There’s a few openings at Idlewild at the moment, with a quite fairly good agex. It’s been a while since I checked it the last time!

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I would test the waters on your current servers, and find a strategy that works to deliver your goals and (despite you wanting to give it up) a good profit margin and return on capital/equity. Wait for a new server to start, and start a new airline with your proven strategy.

That way, you start on a clean slate like everyone else and have an opportunity to build up a really successful airline.

These big airlines have enough cash (or at least they should) to dump capacity and prices on your routes and make life difficult for you. For example, right now on Aspern I’m employing aggressive tactics to knock out 5 airlines (I have 6 subsidiaries + a main airline), and can think of at least another 5 that I want to give a run for their money in the next few weeks (Banff, you are not one of them :wink: ).

Get your strategy right. Test the waters. Test out different aircraft and routes. Play like you want to find a niche to milk in the new server, and that niche will fund your remaining activities.

For example, from DXB, key airports are BAH DOH MCT AUH SHJ etc. these give me the bulk of my profits and enable my expansion.

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Hehe Saadmohd, just for 10 seconds I was like "OMG S***T"  :huh: 

But what Saad says, pretty much sums it up. Test, test and test. Suddently you’ll strike gold - and the efforts will be worth it. I think I had around 10-15 restarts, before my companies started to become succesful! :slight_smile:

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