buying out airlines

[nhydra]

I haven't searched the forums for this topic, but should there be an option to buy-out an airline? Or would that be unfair competition?

[Tha_Ape]

I think it could be a little unfair if not implemented in a good manner.

Could be interesting, but with a lot of conditions and a lot of drawbacks: possible, but complicated, as IRL you don't turn a nightmare into success with just a few millions and a nice smile.

An (unfair but useful) condition could be that the target airline doesn't have more than one fleet group in common with yours, so that your new profit gets hurt (this is the drawback), ensuring that you actually have to work to get the benefits of the purchase (again, not only spend a few millions / billions).

Well, that was only an example of something that could be, not an official request. Would need a lot of thinking:
- how target airlines are eligible?
- how long do they stay on the market? Or is it 1st come, 1st served?
- how does the market works? Auctions?
- etc.

[Cardinal]

Several players would start airlines for the express purpose of selling to an alliance mate. This has the same effect as two players logging in as the same user and playing the same airline: two or more players coordinating their fleet and base choices and building what will eventually merge into a single airline.

[Zobelle]

Several players would start airlines for the express purpose of selling to an alliance mate. This has the same effect as two players logging in as the same user and playing the same airline: two or more players coordinating their fleet and base choices and building what will eventually merge into a single airline.

Nope, don't think so.

It's already possible to do something similar to this by skirting the rules as it is.

[Tha_Ape]

Several players would start airlines for the express purpose of selling to an alliance mate. This has the same effect as two players logging in as the same user and playing the same airline: two or more players coordinating their fleet and base choices and building what will eventually merge into a single airline.

Nope, don't think so.

It's already possible to do something similar to this by skirting the rules as it is.

I think that it depends how it's organized.
Buying a flourishing airline with the same fleet composition as yours is obviously (for me) not a possibility. This would just lead to something similar to what Cardinal says.
Would be interesting if you could buy only rather small and ill airlines, and to turn it into a profit it would need efforts (time and money).
So what you buy is a market share and assets, not economics results.

[nhydra]

I think that it depends how it's organized.
Buying a flourishing airline with the same fleet composition as yours is obviously (for me) not a possibility. This would just lead to something similar to what Cardinal says.
Would be interesting if you could buy only rather small and ill airlines, and to turn it into a profit it would need efforts (time and money).
So what you buy is a market share and assets, not economics results.

Thats sort of on the lines of how I was thinking, a large superior carrier buying out a small airline instead of them going bankrupt for example. Of course the price would be high so airlines wouldn't be bought all the time, but it could add to the challenge if the owner can tackle the acquisition of another airline.

[wilian.souza2]

I was about to open a huge topic about implementing a stock market on AirwaySim, with exactly this purpose!

The stock market I have in mind is based on Railroad Tycoon 3's stock market. It works this way out there:

- You open a railroad with a share of your own money and another share of the stockholders' money. The proportion of your money/stockholders' money is usually 10-15%; once the company is opened, the stockholder's shares get open to the market in form of stocks, which you can buy and sell at will (even buying and selling short is modeled);

- You can issue more stocks to the market to get cash for your railroad, as an alternative for issuing loans, or use your company cash to buy back the stocks (hence raising your stock share);

- The CEO's salary is not set by him, but it's automatically calculated every year, accordingly to his performance at the company.

- You may merge with a competing railroad by acquiring 50%+1 of its stocks and using your company cash to buy the remaining shares on the market. I don't know what are the calculations involved, but this operation gives a HUGE amount of money to the CEO.

I think if a similar system was implemented here, it would make the richest airline CEO's stats much more interesting at least. However, we should limit mergers by restricting it only for airlines based at the same country. If the CEO of an airline acquires the majority of stocks of an airline based in a different country, he could be able to control it like it was an airline in vacation mode, and it wouldn't go bankrupt if the CEO of that airline decides to leave the game.