Why the Loss?

[Karl]

A few real world days ago, I was making money.  I was saving to open a new base.  My airline accumulated almost $40 million.  Over the last two days, I am down to $23 million.  What is going on?

I have fuel contracts, and I have 2 national advertizing campaigns.
Most of my aircraft are operating at between 80 - 94% capacity.  All are profitable.
I regularly update the airfares to the standard.  I eliminate underperforming routes.
I have no debt or loans.

So, what more can I do or not do to stem the bad tide?

[Sanabas]

Posting a screenie of your income statement would help.

[Ellenhall2011]

Try the income statement?

Have you had 2 or 3 heavy matenence checks at the same time ?

[Karl]

I do not like the "Income Statement" and the "Money" indication in this scenario.  It can be misleading and alarming!   

I believe the default Income Statement is weekly.  I know that I can set it to monthly and yearly.

The bottom line changes dramatically seemingly from minute to minute.  Some charges are on Tuesday.  All at once, you take a big hit.  Then, there are always aircraft going in for C Checks.  I think the bottom line gets hit all at once for the entire cost.  Then, all of a sudden, the bottom line goes up dramatically - I guess because my income must have been tallied.

Any way, i do not find that these features are helpful.   

[Sami]

As you said, the income statement is WEEKLY, not DAILY. (& monthly / yearly etc). Do not look at the individual days / hours when cash comes in or goes out, look at the total results of previous weeks / quarters etc.

And as others said, without a screenshot (or similar) of the income sheet, they cannot really comment on what is happening.

[z3rostr1fe]

Now, I took a peek at your fleet, and it seems that you got everything on a leasing agreement. Every end of the game month, all the leasing agreements you got will slam you with the monthly fee. So that may be the one causing your sudden drop in income.

Another thing, if all your aircrafts are earning a profit, it doesn't mean that your company as a whole will also be earning a profit.

If I am wrong for saying that, then do correct me. After all, i'm also new to this game.

[Sami]

Another thing, if all your aircrafts are earning a profit, it doesn't mean that your company as a whole will also be earning a profit.
If I am wrong for saying that, then do correct me. After all, i'm also new to this game.

Correct, since the Aircraft and Routes pages only display the costs that can be associated with the invidual routes and planes. Companywide expenses such as staff, marketing, administration etc are not in these figures, and for these you need the income statement.

[Karl]

Can you open this Income Statement?

https://www.airwaysim.com/game/Office/Incomes

[Karl]

I have eliminated all but one of my national campaigns, and I raised my fares slightly.  This has produced profitable routes with very good loads and excellent route images.

I do have Alliance fees - whicH I could eliminate.  It is my understanding the the benefit of alliance membership is somehow figured in to ticket sales, but....

I could borrow, but to me when I have borrowed, the repayment schedule seems suicidal - unless you borrow enough to get through the entire time frame of the scenario.  

The premise of the whole simulation seems to be to borrow enough to outlast the constant chipping away of funds so that your airline can be one of the last ones standing.  Just look at the constant stream of bankruptcies. This might be realistic, but it certianly does not make participating in the simulation any fun.  This, after all, is supposed to be fun.  Challenging, but fun!

[Karl]

What is the advantage to buying aircraft?

If one buys an aircraft over time, there is still a repayment schedule.
Who has enought to buy a plane and pay for it completely?

[Sami]

The premise of the whole simulation seems to be to borrow enough to outlast the constant chipping away of funds so that your airline can be one of the last ones standing.

Most certainly not.

Creating a profitable airline isn't that hard really, if one knows what he is doing and is familiar with the sim.

What is the advantage to buying aircraft?

No lease costs, cheaper insurance, possibility to loan money against the aircraft etc. Owned planes count in to your company value, in turn again increasing other possibilities in financial sector.

Lease costs especially are the thing one should be careful with. Lease prices of some brand new planes can be very high at times.

[Karl]

All my leases are for used aircraft.

[Sanabas]

Can you open this Income Statement?

https://www.airwaysim.com/game/Office/Incomes

If we follow that link, we go to our own income statements. Most of us also can't look at the basics of your airline (where you're based, what your fleet is, etc) because we're not active in beginner's world. You need to take a screenshot, and attach it to your post.

The premise of the whole simulation seems to be to borrow enough to outlast the constant chipping away of funds so that your airline can be one of the last ones standing.  Just look at the constant stream of bankruptcies. This might be realistic, but it certianly does not make participating in the simulation any fun.  This, after all, is supposed to be fun.  Challenging, but fun!

Borrowing in order to put off bankruptcy, because you're steadily losing money, is an indication your airline is in a fairly unhealthy state. If you're healthy, you should be profitable, and borrowing money is a chance to get more planes, and become even more profitable.

What is the advantage to buying aircraft?

If one buys an aircraft over time, there is still a repayment schedule.
Who has enought to buy a plane and pay for it completely?

If you own an aircraft, insurance is cheaper. You can use it as security for a loan. 7 years of lease payments are more expensive than the purchase price. So if you're going to be operating the plane longer than 7 years, you'll save money by buying it. Also, if you stop using it, you can turn it into cash by selling/leasing it, which you can't do with a leased plane. So there are lots of benefits to buying a plane, rather than leasing. Lots of airlines have enough cash to do so, once they've been running for a litle while.

[Karl]

My airline is profitable.  I am no where near bankruptcy.

I have 75 leased 737-300 & 737-400; 757-200, and 767-200ER.  All are making money on a good USA network.

My concern is that I am staying in place.  At one point I was making progress.  I was saving money to obtain my third hub at a world class airport.  Then, all of a sudden, I began to lose money and now have hit a profit plateau.

It is frustrating.  

[Karl]

In this Forum, how do you post a screen shot?

[Sanabas]

My airline is profitable.  

Then, all of a sudden, I began to lose money and now have hit a profit plateau.

Those two statements contradict each other.

In this Forum, how do you post a screen shot?

At the bottom left of the box where you're typing your reply, there is a link that says 'additional options', click on that, and attach your screenie.