Wonderful realistic SIM !!!!!

[Sgt_Hotcliff]

Hi Sami and the Crew,
I just have to admit, I got completely hooked on this when I first started! It is just a wonderful SIM with all that realism I remember from working in the flying business in the 80's!
I worked as F/O in a Beech 200 Super King Air for Ambulance transport only and at that time it was my dream job. My Captain and I were constantly trying to find out a new business and have been sitting long nights with these calculations you have in the SIM..wanted to run a LearJet35 Longhorn but always ended up economically with a boring Fokker F27!
Anyway, I guess I will be in here permanently now. A very, very good SIM this!!
Thank you for making me feel like I am back in the flying business again!

It is very, very demanding and difficult, like managing a Piper Navajo P31P with one engine failure on take-off! 

Best of luck guys!

Sgt_Hotcliff

p.s One tip that would make it even worse, is a randomly engine break-down on some a/c..with high costs..but guess it will be too complicated? 
d.s

[Ligo]

I join to each of these words. It is very very very realistic and very hooking. That's why it is bad - I was hooked from real life by this simulation and don't see the way to come back yet. Just digits, just tables but... It is really great. Thank you, guys for making such a wonderful software product.

[Sgt_Hotcliff]

Hi Ligo, my soul mate!
Thanks for your reply, but I have to come back with some critics also..

I have lost count of how many Airlines I have started in this short time I have been in here. I start up with a good plan, but always , after a short time, I can see where it's going..to hell! 

The major problems and flaws with this SIM , in my opinion, are:

1. Staffing:
You get an unproportional high staffing directly as soon as you start operations. Staff costs are terrible and is killing the small company.
We started Swedish Air Ambulance back in 1978 with ONE Beechcraft 200, ONE Flight Op's Mgr (also CEO), ONE secretary, ONE mechanic and 2 Captains and 2 F/O's !!!
We worked a lot, flight time of over 14 hrs/day and 20 ldgs was not unusual, but we made money and could expand. All Airlines have started in a small scale, so I can't understand why it does not work here?

I have just started a new Airline and leased a BAC-111 , waiting for my 3 CRJ-100's..the auto staffing says I have 36 humans employed to run this little business!!!   Where is the logic in that?

2. Coming in late in a Gameworld is terrible. Selecting the Base HQ and see that only 20% Slots are avialable kills the business too!

3. Marketing costs are insane for a small Airline!

I just love the SIM but can't understand how to make it profitable.
Have tried small business in Norway with a couple of the loving BE99 Airliners, but the expenses eat up everything.

I think there is a system fault in here.

Well, there goes my thoughts public 

Fly safe--gear down and welded!

/Sgt_Hotcliff

[Frederik]

On the other hand you can also make insane profits and build mammoth fleets!

It does take many trial, errors and patience to find a working plan.

[Sgt_Hotcliff]

Hi Frederik!

But HOW??? 

I am a bit lost at the moment as you can understand. Of course I would love to get an airline started in small scale, growing at a moderate pace, expanding, ordering new a/c ..watching the $$$ pile up in my bank account, but I have just not found the formulae! 

Maybe I am incompetent, but I have been in the business, I can calculate, I know all the a/c's for real..I should be able to run this!

But, maybe I am too impatient and have too many preferences from r/l regarding a/c..for example I just LOVE the Bombardier CRJ ! 

I just don't know why I always loose money..

"Jokes told by flight engineers are ignored; Copilot jokes draw smiles; Captain jokes sends Copilots and Flight Engineers into hysterics, none of which proves who tells the funniest jokes! " 

/Sgt_Hotcliff

[gazzz0x2z]

big boys have a few tricks, but if you avoid them & go for medium-sized aircraft, you can make a decent amount of money. in current GW3, there's a guy who flies only Pilatus in Vanuatu. That's extreme, but he faces 0 opposition. His company is not even 1 year old, and his profit margin already flies near 14%. So, that's possible.

I'm personally fluing planes between 50 & 150 places. 50-seaters are easier to get, and in previous GW3, I had a lot of success with CRJs. But I avoided the big lines. I made plenty of small bases to avoid being reduced to dust by the big boys. I went to Prestwick, Beauvais, Cardiff, Reus, where there is usually no opposition. A CRJ100 on 4 (300NM or so) lines with 60 potential each is really a good way to make money. My best line was Beauvais-Prestwick : as both are "low cost", demand between those airports was filling a A158(with maximum filling of 99pax) at 90%LF for an insane price. yeah, a plane I bought new for 18M$(prices did collapse I was nearly the only one to fly them) did earn me 1.6M per week(before taxes, but still)

Of course, most lines are less juicy, and I learned a hard lesson about range. Going too far with small airplanes is dangerous. my A148E could be pushed to 2200NM lines with in 65+4 configuration, but the income was no better than on a 200NM lines, due to fuel costs. Impossible to get beyond 15 k$ per day on the line to Amman, plane full with insane prices. 25k$ per day on a local line.....

if you go CRJ, stick yourself to the low-range model, in a first time. You will have less market share, but the most juicy routes. Plus, if noone else is at your airport, you will keep a lot of unopposed routes. Not many will be as juicy as my Prestwick-Beauvais example, but when quiet, you can really make a small company viable. Better an unused route than a losing money route.

Just remember to regularly check LF, and adjust prices on a regular basis. If you're over 90% LF, and it's not suspicious(i.e. there is ferocious opposition and suddenly LF jumps from 60% to 96% - it means your opponent is in a C-check and will come back soon), then increase prices. And be sure to have the proper kind of airplane. Too small, and the "too small" penalty will lower your LF(don't fly CDG-JFK on a 737, 250-seaters are gonna kill you). Too big, and the small birds will offer better frequency(don't fly Glasgow-Belfast on a 737, 40-seaters are gonna kill you - it did happen to me)

[Aoitsuki]

BE99 is definately possible to make money. Especially with the buff done an year ago about aircraft size.

however the safe bet is go for the 50 seater as many will tell you, 50 seat prop is one of the safetest startup you can have. 100+ seater and LH aircraft is the more risky strategy but may yield more profit if you do it properly. make sure reading on the starter guide as way too many people make mistake that is listed on the guide and manual.

always keep some money in your bank account, route takes time to build just like in RL.

to answer your concern:

1. Staffing:
You get an unproportional high staffing directly as soon as you start operations. Staff costs are terrible and is killing the small company.
We started Swedish Air Ambulance back in 1978 with ONE Beechcraft 200, ONE Flight Op's Mgr (also CEO), ONE secretary, ONE mechanic and 2 Captains and 2 F/O's !!!
We worked a lot, flight time of over 14 hrs/day and 20 ldgs was not unusual, but we made money and could expand. All Airlines have started in a small scale, so I can't understand why it does not work here?

usually a starting airline of 2-3 medium 50 seater will yield you cash, I have seen smaller airline using 19 seater heron making money also(try to search the forum for the small aircraft experiment). But game is more designed on the level you start as a company with a little bit more cash then a beechcraft startup.(ok fine.. way more).

2. Coming in late in a Gameworld is terrible. Selecting the Base HQ and see that only 20% Slots are avialable kills the business too!

i disagree, just like RL i don't think anyone will allow a new startup to come to LHR or HND and open route. Most slot are supposed to be utilized. However sami(this SIM designer) is reworking the system soon. So we will see changes on this.

3. Marketing costs are insane for a small Airline!

I just love the SIM but can't understand how to make it profitable.
Have tried small business in Norway with a couple of the loving BE99 Airliners, but the expenses eat up everything.

market cost is proportional to your airline size. I don't think any new startup using BE99 will have television+paper+radio around the world? most likely you will have news paper on country...

trial and error is the key in this game, just like business. Try to get a mentor to help you(it is slightly harder on real game world as most of us are either playing, or helping other already.

[Sgt_Hotcliff]

big boys have a few tricks, but if you avoid them & go for medium-sized aircraft, you can make a decent amount of money. in current GW3, there's a guy who flies only Pilatus in Vanuatu.

Thx gazzz for your reply!
I am learning more for everyday how this is working. It has been difficult to understand many things, for example the different profit on similar lines.
Maybe the CRJ-100's are a bit too costly for a beginner to start off with, even if I love it in r/l 

I am thinking of this 24 hrs/day I guess..very intrigueing indeed.

So, back to the drawing board, find a small base in Norway and start off with one Twin-Otter could be a better start..(does it sound like the real airline Wideroe?)

We'll see..

/Sgt_Hotcliff

"A good captain and copilot go hand in hand (But NOT through the terminal building) 

[Sgt_Hotcliff]

BE99 is definately possible to make money. Especially with the buff done an year ago about aircraft size.

Hi Aoitsuki,
Thank you for your examination and replies. It made me feel a bit better 

As I replied above, I guess it's back to the drawing board again and plan better.

/Sgt_Hotcliff

"There are four ways to fly: the right way, the wrong way, the company way and the captains way. Only one counts"  

[Wagster]

Check Confederate Airways and GittiHawk in Game world #1 for a very successful small plane operation - granted, by now they have HUGE fleets of these little birds.

They are my favorite airlines in GW#1 so far and I'd love to emulate them in a future game world, and I wish them much success and hope they stand til the end of the game world.

[Maxair]

I restarted in GW4 and decided to run a small Carribean Airline hoping between islands using 19 seat Metros. Kept most routes to under 400NM with them and did very well. At one point profit margin was 28%. I eventually added EMB120s and then CRJ700s. Each time i added a different type my margins went down to around 14%. So it is possible to make alot of money with small planes but stick with that one type is my advice.

[Sgt_Hotcliff]

Okay Guys, I surrender! 

Have now tried 3 different set-ups in different GW:s:

1. Two Twin-Otters in Norway ENAL, small hops around the fjords..impossible economy.

2. Two old F27's from ESGP, small airport outside Gothenburg..impossible economy.

and finally the promising venture:

3. Two Saab-2000 att ESGG, main airport in Gothenburg, 352 kts TAS fastest turboprop around!  / 50px , good range for Europe, and finally..green figures!! 
Now, having leased 3 more Saab-2000, since they are quite rare on the market, we'll see if we can do business here. The a/c economy is very good.
Fingers crossed, but it sure looks hopeful!



"A comment about how well things are going is a sure guarantee of trouble!" (Cpt. Len Morgan)

[kberry]

It is possible to use small aircraft economically if you have the right market. Every airline I've run on here has had the PC-12 figure in in a   least some capacity. I've also run an airline with a San Juan (SJU/TJSJ) base which had me (successfully) island hopping in the PC12, the B1900 and the ATR 42/72 at the same time. Just gotta do your research and plan accordingly.

[Sami]

3. Two Saab-2000 att ESGG, main airport in Gothenburg

Checked your airline in a bit more details ...

You shouldn't be using Standard seating in the S2000 since it drastically reduces your capacity (45Y seats). And the routes that plane can fly are so short that it makes no practical difference if you use the normal (HD) seating.

And also, some of your routes are flying with >97% average load factors so it's worth increasing the ticket prices to maximize the profits.

Other than that, I see nothing from preventing the bigger profits.

[Sgt_Hotcliff]

Checked your airline in a bit more details ...

You shouldn't be using Standard seating in the S2000 since it drastically reduces your capacity (45Y seats). And the routes that plane can fly are so short that it makes no practical difference if you use the normal (HD) seating.

And also, some of your routes are flying with >97% average load factors so it's worth increasing the ticket prices to maximize the profits.

Other than that, I see nothing from preventing the bigger profits.

Terve Sami!

Thank's for your advice 
The reason for std seating is that I found them on the market like that and did not want to delay for reconfig. Will change them in a while.
Will increase a little by little on those good routes.

This is the best try ever for me and it feels really good to see it is actually looking good for a change 

/Sgt_Hotcliff

"A copilot is an idiot until he spots traffic at 12 o' clock, after which he is a goof-off for not seeing it sooner " 

[gazzz0x2z]

fast turboprops, as Q400 & S2000, are next to cheating, when it comes to fuel-to-distance ratio. Fortunately, their families are not big, which makes them too rigid for many players(compare to the CRJ family, from 50 to nearly 100 pax capacity, costlier fuel consuption, but much more possible routes).

You need the right base for them, also. They're not advised to fly beyond 500NM without heavy price micromanagement - or on too big lines. You therefore need a lot of targets within 500NM that have a lot of potential - and not much opposition.