In the game world I'm in, I'm based at KDFW in the States. Now that I have supplied most of the demand there, I'm looking for other bases in America to expand but it seems like most demand is already supplied.
Now I'm thinking of competing with other airlines but I'm not sure how to compete succesfully and get passengers to come to my airline over the other airlines. I have good company image and have a base airport in mind but does anyone have any good tips for competing with others.
If you are looking to open a new base in a crowded market then there are a few thing you are looking for
- Make sure you have serves all available routes from your HQ before opening. Your HQ will always be your bread maker so make sure you make it as unappealing for any new starts or additional bases by covering as many routes with as much frequency as possible (depending on fleet, demand and distance) and holding as many slots as possible. These steps will also hinder any competition you have from growing rapidly.
- Find a similar base style to the one you have, if you run a domestic airline try to find a base with good domestic demand. The key to this is keeping within the aircraft types you have. If you open a base and you need to add a new fleet type you have no need for at you home base its not too smart, especially if you have 2 or 3 fleets already
- Pick somewhere with plenty slots (particular AM or key slots needed to help with 7 day schedules). No point in opening a base and then finding its impossible to make the schedules you need
- Choose your competition carefully. No point in opening at a base either with 3/4 decent airlines based already as you will find they will generally all be on the best routes. Its also not a great idea to open against a much bigger airline making massive profits as they can easily withstand someone moving in on their patch, but they can also hurt you by lowering prices on their routes therefore squeezing your loads.
- Don't open a new base with little or no parked aircraft. If you do this there is no surprise for your competition and you may find by the time you get to make a meaningful number of routes they will already have tightened things up on prices and frequency
- Don't just open a base for the sake of it, have a plan. You should be checking routed demands from the base well before opening to give you an idea of where to target and how many aircraft are required to be able to compete
Just a few thoughts from me but hopefully give you a little help.
Quote from: wildavidson on November 08, 2015, 12:22:59 PM
- Don't open a new base with little or no parked aircraft. If you do this there is no surprise for your competition and you may find by the time you get to make a meaningful number of routes they will already have tightened things up on prices and frequency
Does this mean when I have my aircraft delivered, I should put them straight into parking and then make a sudden entrance after I've built my fleet up a little bit at the new base?
And thanks for all the other tips :) :)
Quote from: Shmant on November 08, 2015, 04:41:09 PM
Does this mean when I have my aircraft delivered, I should put them straight into parking and then make a sudden entrance after I've built my fleet up a little bit at the new base?
And thanks for all the other tips :) :)
Ideally you should be stocking up some aircraft before opening a new base. Not just for the sudden entrance but your weekly costs will increase quite a bit and I dont like paying the additional base costs for the sake of 2 or 3 aircraft.
OK Thanks very much
dont store them. Just leave them idle. I'd say that moving in with 25 aircraft is sufficient. Dont forget that opening routes to all 25 will cost money and that those routes will not be profitable from the moment you start. Be aware to have some reserves in cash
All answers are true, but it also depends on the opportunites & you style of play.
In current GW3, I was looking for bases in Nice & Warsaw since a long time. I had already planned to go there after my fleet renewal. Big bankrupts did happen in both, and my surge there has been very progressive - especially right now in Warsaw, as I'm both replacing aging leased 737s & Ejets, plus replacing my last owned ERJs by Ejets also. After 500 days, I just have 8 planes there. It's a pity, and not very efficient. But by settling there as soon as the other bankrupted, I also played a psychological game to prevent any 3rd guy to come here.
That's not an example to follow. I did that because events didn't match my strategy, and I did decide, in both cases, that events were more important than pre-determined strategy. It's a dangerous game. It worked well in Nice. In Warsaw, not so much. Yet.
I would say research the competition in detail, as well as the demand. It may actually be beneficial to open a base where there is a very large competitor, if they have already maxed out the aircraft outside HQ limit. If you are flying smaller aircraft there is not much they can do to keep you out.
For smaller competitors, check their financials and fleet choices, as they may actually be quite weak and could go bk with a bit of help
QuoteMake sure you have serves all available routes from your HQ before opening. Your HQ will always be your bread maker
That might be your opinion, mine differs. You can sit in a corner collecting money on routes no one ever thought of. And then get to a class 5 airport that grows 20 times in size of your HQ. Then what airport is the bread maker?