What is the maximum reasonable delay for joining a game?

[JDuff]

Hello all,

I joined Modern Times n°4 only recently and it apparently has been going on for a couple months. I've been applying what I believe are sound best practices for starting an AirwaySim airline:
-patience
-start small (short routes and cheap turboprops)
-don't go crazy on marketing
-Choice of a big enough hub, around which are enough destinations with open and/or cheap slots

Nevertheless, it seems that for that gameworld, the die are already well cast... I just can't seem to pull through enough LF to make my routes sufficiently profitable to stay in the green. All the profitable routes are oversupplied, and the only remaining routes that are big enough are apparently too competitive to pull enough pax on each leg.
Now my first C check is coming up (I can neither pay for the check nor the termination of the lease), my four month cashdown on all the leases is coming to an end (which means -800k USD on my monthly income statements), my HR costs are through the roof, and it looks like I'll BK sometime soon.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

JDuff

[JumboShrimp]

MT4 is another of the super easy games.  What I mean by that is that the fuel prices and inflation have been really low, everyone is fat and happy.  Profits are good.  Nobody goes out of business.

While a world like this is super easy for airlines that started on day one, it is nearly impossible for late starters to survive. All decent airports have an incumbant airline.  Used market is empty (except of the most pathetic aircraft).  Waiting times for new aircraft is several years.

I am not sure if Sami realizes that making the game very easy (with low fuel prices, low inflation, low cost of business) for early starters, he is making it impossibly difficult for late starters.  The way MT4 is right now, I would not recommend anyone starting there.

As far as your original question about maximum reasonable delay joining - it differs from game to game, as the price of fuel is not predetermined.  One or two serious oil price spikes bankrupt some airlines and create opportunities for new airlines.  There were none in MT4 yet...

[JDuff]

Clear enough for me. Thanks for the honesty!

[flyboy842]

Aren't the fuel prices just bordering $1000 in MT4? Deosn't that make it difficult?

[JumboShrimp]

Aren't the fuel prices just bordering $1000 in MT4? Deosn't that make it difficult?

The prices have been in $800 to $900 for a long time, now around $950.  $1100 to $1300 tends to be more challenging.

Another component is wage demand.  I don't know how independent that is of other variables, but the wage demands have been very tame.