BABY airline test under this game engine

[Maarten Otto]

Okay, with the previous game engine it was extremely hard to run a profitable airline using small aircraft's. 
I fear for the worst under the current game engine which is aimed at small growth and large overhead expanses.

But as I have a big mouth, I have to put the word to the test. So please Sami keep an eye on this as I hope my findings (and perhaps those of other players doing the same, which I do encourage to give this test a try for themselves) will result in a good solution to make AWS even more attractive for more players by offering a wider scope to play the game.


I based my airline in Belfast and I'll try to survive as long as possible. I play open cards this time because it is a test in a normal scenario with normal competition. But please DO NOT use the open card for your benefits to destroy a test environment.

Those who want to try running a baby airline (small aircraft) please do and post your findings in here. If you have questions regarding overhead, marketing etc. don't hesitate to ask. I will post some screen shots if required.

WEEK 1:

- Ordered 4 Embrears from lease market.
- Sheduled them (all have 6 return flights = 12 take off's a day to maximise profit)
- Marketing = Internet and newspapers at $44.500 a week already.
- Staff... More then $950.000 already... with just 1 aircraft in service and 3 scheduled. (bit odd don't you think)
- I already employed 54 customer service employees... which is utterly appalling because a fast calculation shows 1 employee handles only 13,3 pax per day. Even communists work more efficient. 

Problem: To many staff required for the amount of seats on offer.
Solution: Don't base the staff requirement on number of AC's but on seats available to sell.

[Sigma]

Your overall point still stands, but remember that you hire your people as soon as the routes are scheduled.  That means you're going to have some pretty high losses the first 2 weeks until your next planes arrive.

Early on, especially starting with small planes like that, I always wait to schedule until the plane arrives.  Even if you lose a week or so of income because it sits until you get online, that's better than the big losses you take by scheduling early which can put you deep into the red early on if you don't have cash left after the initial purchase.

[jimsom]

I operate an airline with 41 Saabs (340s + 2000s) and have over 5000 employees...

[Maarten Otto]

Sorry... but running a Saab liner is easy compared to this.

[GDK]

Saabs earn huge profit!

[jimsom]

Saabs earn huge profit!

Beleive me, with 5000 employees in a regional airline, the small profits is nowhere to be seen in the result of every month.

[GDK]

How many routes are you flying requiring that huge amount of employees?
In JA2, I started with Convairs, YS-11 and BAC One-Elevens in Japan. Flying only domestic routes from Haneda at that time, I have over 15000 workers but yet I still earning big money.

[Maarten Otto]

Okay I opened one additional route and my marketing expanses went up from $44.000 to over $66.000... A bit much for 300 seats a day (5x30x2). I use Internet and Newspapers to spread the word.

Problem: Marketing cost
Solution: Axpanses based on seats available instead of company routes.

[Maarten Otto]

Just an overview of income/expanses with 9 EMB 120's

- Note that the leases have not kicked in yet
- Number of routes is still low as most routes are operated six to 12 times a day.
- Staff is under paid by a few % under suggested levels

[Sami]

500k profits with 9x small a/c fleet is quite good. But let's see when you start paying the leases, you should be some 50-150k in profit I guess, which is prettymuch in the ballpark that is normal for this size of carrier.

[Maarten Otto]

Yes, but I will have to cut spending money on marketing at some point.

[munipandita]

I never tried this before, but losgatitospeligrosos user already has, and he is still flying..

Try to lower your staff for something like 95% or 90%.

[Sami]

Try to lower your staff for something like 95% or 90%.

No, no, no, no.

[Maarten Otto]

Been there, done that and had a wet shower at the office...    Even under game engine 1.1 the staff got angry... let alone this game engine... No way mate.

[munipandita]

another reason for me to not doing this too
thanks for the advice

[losgatitospeligrosos]

It's better to NOT HIRE staff rather than to FIRE them. I always understaff a bit ... and I haven't raised people's wages in Air Travel Boom in 8 year. Morale is just now starting to become an issue.

[Maarten Otto]

And could you please provide us some information regarding punctuality and fligt cancellations?