extra bases

[daviddanser]

I started an airline in the Netherlands in gw2, and i am making a nice profit.. I have bases in Rotterdam and Eindhoven and filled in all routes possible... My 3th base can only be opened in the Netherlands but it such a small country that only Schiphol is an option..
But there is already a massive airline there (Dutch Skies) who has overflooded all routes by at least 200% combined with other airlines so there is no money there for me..
Now i am actually stuck, there is nothing for me to do anymore ? all routes at schiphol have a demand of for example 500 and 2000-3000 supply, does anyone has a suggestion on what to do ?

i have about 15 planes and i am making good money, but i opened all routes on Rotterdam and Eindhoven worth flying.

[Pukeko]

Your flying from pretty small airports so your expansion will be slow unless you jump in the deep end at schiphol. I had a look at your competition and they seem to be concentrating on bigger planes. As you are currently operating pretty small aircraft there is a probably plenty of potential for you to go in there and pick up the lesser routes with no or little competition or try and put higher frequency on some of his routes. Once you build up a bit of cash then you could look at bigger planes (although best to stick to the smaller end of the plane market at this stage unless you want high commonality costs) and then of course with the open skies agreement comes in place, the whole of Europe will open up for you. Dont be afraid of a bit of competition and a challenge though... the game gets pretty boring if you become a monopoly...even if thats what most of us strive for!

I should also add... the passenger market in the 70s is also pretty small. Expect it to pickup conisderably in the 80s. Now is a good time to save money for the big expansion....

[Kadachiman]

I agree, open in Schiphol and it should make money for you if you stick to the same planes as you already have.

With small planes you will -

1. find routes not covered
2. be able to pinch enough pax from the big competitors to turn a profit even with the routes 200% supplied already....you don't want all the pax available but just enough to fill your planes :-)


However check that there are sufficient slots available for you to use prior to opening a base

[Solemus]

Good advise here 

[daviddanser]

Tnx for the advice, i think i will save up for another year to have about 50 million laying around to expand into Schiphol..
I couldn't find any routes with more demand than supply.. But i shouldn't be to worried about that ?
So the best option is to pick a couple of routes and use a high frequency here ?
With a 50% LF i am already making money on routes so i believe there is a possibility, tnx for the advice guys it seems i need to jump into Schiphol, it is actually the only option for me anyway!

(I have really been searching for routes from Schiphol but Dutch International really has everything double covered there, i can't find any suitable route to fly without getting pushed out.)

[Kadachiman]

Don't worry if you are flying small planes vs. his big planes you will get enough pax to turn a profit, just don't overdo it and supply 100% demand with your planes

With the base rules relaxed now you can afford to open smaller bases with smaller planes and poach enough pax to keep the company accountant happy
20%-30% of the pax numbers of the bigger routes as a 1st step

[gazzz0x2z]

typically, I have some lines with 100 pax potential. I did put 2 CRJ100s. that's 104 pax of capacity.

then came an opponent with 20-seaters. With 3 flights on the line against my 2, he's entitled to 60% of traffic. 60% of 100, that's a perfect fill for his babies.

I don't cry because, at another scale, I do the same against 767s...

[daviddanser]

I want to expand but Schiphol is so over the top in terms of supply, at least double the supply for every route! that's pretty harsh competition.

[gazzz0x2z]

I want to expand but Schiphol is so over the top in terms of supply, at least double the supply for every route! that's pretty harsh competition.

do not count about the supply. Count the flights. That's how the game works.

Let's imagine you fly 50-seaters. Let's imagine a line with 500 potential. if 9 200-seaters are flying it, and you align your 50-seater, the base for your market share is 10%. 10% of 500. Even with lower CI, you should fill  your flights at standard price, or maybe a little more. Even if the supply is already 1800 for 500.

Though the tough part for you will be slot prices & availability. It's a one-time hit, but on that can hit hard. Then, you need a few months to build up CI(don't waste money on RI with such small planes), and profit begins.

Another thing for you to look for : smaller airport. Lines with 40-60 potential. Unlikely airports. I don't know exactly what is the demand for those, but it's likely not fulfilled yet. Fish for untapped fishing spots. I'm currently playing GW3 in 2017, so numbers may vary. I had a look to smaller airports in France. Demand to Lille is 90, Beauvais 300, Nantes 200, Strasbourg 190, Montpellier 110, Brest 42. Look for the same in your game, and some are probably not exploited yet. Look for smaller airports in other nearby countries. There is probably enough to occupy 10-12 airplanes, depending on your current fleet choice.

[11Air]

Use the Route Planner to find airports in your area with a SIZE that matches your aircraft.  Then look at those airports that seem attractive and chech out flights from Schipol.  You should have a sound plan then for what might be achievable without increasing your maintenance.
The back up is to lease used aircraft on 1 yr leases.  If it doesn't work out just terminate or put to store, moving them to another airport first of course so yu can close down your Schipol operation.

This is the consequence of joining a game late, no demand for big planes, tempting to go small, and it works for quite a while but eventually you want to go knocking on doors or just stay alert for bankruptcies and step in quick.  I'm running 6 bases in one game, still finding decent routes for the little fella's and by concentrating solely on Beechcraft's I can go bigger too where demand grows, even smaller Jets are becoming viable, but the Boeings are not (yet).