How do you make a profit?

[LincBee]

This game is driving me nuts, 6 attempts and every time fail. Latest game planes and routes making good $, still losing $400k/week! What is the secret or is it flawed, once my credits runout I'm most likely out of here and find a game that is more realistic.

[knobbygb]

It's hard to comment without more detail, but there are LOADS of helpful posts here.  If you're online right now, put out a request for mentor and I'll pick it up - I'm around for the next hour.  That way I can take a close look at your airline.

[Kazari]

I looked at your airline.

There are a couple of approaches I take that I see you aren't doing that may be useful.

1. Leasing. Airplane leases get four months up front. After that, you start to pay. I wonder if your small planes are full enough to support those leases.

2. Losses at first. New routes lose money until RI is high enough (how high depends on the route). When I start, I just fly (and lose money) on one plane's part of a seven-day schedule. Once each route is mKing money, i expand to the other six planes.

3. Small planes don't make a lot.

4. Are you utilizing the planes to their fullest all the time? Seven-day scheduling? Tight maintenance times? Long trips overnight?

5. For small airlines, it might make sense to take the staffing duties on yourself.

6. Are you always updating and adding percentages to your fares as your CI goes ip?

7. Are your marketing costs (much) greater than 10-15 percent?

And something that us frustrating as hell: Are you giving your plan time to bear fruit? This game is about that more than anything else. My experience is that impatience leads to bankruptcy is a variety of ways.

[groundbum2]

this game is also about cash flow. So if you have $10M in the bank, don't spend $10M on new leases. You'll need money for slots, and to cover losses whilst routes build up.

It's also better when an airline is new and cash is critical to do lots of short routes, 3 or 4 a day, rather than 2 long routes. You get more $/hour in. And as others have said scheduling, make those planes work. If you get somebody that lands way from base at 23:55 that's ok, hold it until 5am and have it return. And if you can use timezones to make this even more efficient, all the better.

And small planes - yep it's going to be hard as slot costs are slot costs whether it's a Jumbo or a Piper Cherokee. Also don't start in an airport that's full of competitors, or even one good competitor. To see if another player is good, click on airline CEO username and look at their achievements.

A mentor is a good idea, the game's not that hard once you get past the starting oopsies.

Simon