First time playing outside Beginner's World - any advice?

[burgric]

Hi all,

Excited to hop into the very start of this game world with you! This is my first time playing outside a beginner's world and I'm happy with my HQ location (ZGGG) and initial revenues so far. Do you have any tips or advice for a newbie, especially any common rookie mistakes to avoid when starting out?

[Sami]

Tip #1: Be patient and keep a good cash reserve.

[StarBeam2]

Me and Magnum Airlines have discussed creating a new alliance... I have played this game for many years and can guide you to become a profitable successful airline. I've recently sent a request to Phoenix Alliance to deny my request to join them as I made the request before I spoke to the CEO of Magnum Airlines to open a new world alliance.

Anyway - I will DM some tips - But yes main ones are :

- Stick to ONE or TWO AIRCRAFT TYPES

- Watch Cash Reserves and revenue closely at the start

- Do not open so many routes at once when waiting for airplanes to be delivered from used or new - as this will recruit new staff and you will be paying them before your aircraft actually arrives.

- Make sure to utilize the Cargo Demand  on your destinations to boost your income

- Aim to spend at least 10-15% of your Net profit margin on Permanent General Marketing and always give a month marketing to each route as your open them

- To get the most out of Fleet Utilisation per day - allowing 10mins contingency when scheduling routes on aircraft and change the default turnaround times on all aircraft so there is -1% chance of delay when turn-around is made. (Cargo planes go arrive at any time of day no matter about PAX demand on those - but check the destination airport open/closing times - as some are different

- Regularly check your weekly / monthly / yearly income statements and keep in the green and just spend what you you have spare and plan for a few years ahead, taking into account the fuel prices and airplane strategy when buying new or used planes

- Hedge your FUEL is a must! Or at least try and plan when - (the way to manage this is to predict your entry into the hedging contract as paramount as this WILL SAVE YOU MILLIONS over the decades in the game - There will be some fuel spikes and fuel hikes and lows as expected too

Hi all,

Excited to hop into the very start of this game world with you! This is my first time playing outside a beginner's world and I'm happy with my HQ location (ZGGG) and initial revenues so far. Do you have any tips or advice for a newbie, especially any common rookie mistakes to avoid when starting out?

- Hmmmm... anything else is quite explanatory really but I'm always here for advice as is everyone else with years of knowledge and experience

One of the ways to find tactics and help yourself in the game if you are new without messaging for help  is -

  - Click on the alliances tab >

  - Find the prominent airlines in great standing and the airlines running good profits >

  - Check their statistics and business information to gain insight on how you can improve your own airline company >

  - Also do NOT try to expand too quickly or try to do international travel straight away unless prepared >

  - One more thing to keep in mind -

    If you are NEW to the game - then plan on LEASING ALL AIRCRAFT in the game until you have
    good profit with about x30 leased planes - play these off by buying them eventually >

    > Then >

  > Get a HUGE LOAN and buy loads of new planes with GREAT RATES! >

  > Use the LOAN REVENUE to pay the monthly payments for the new planes >

  > Then watch your company  make millions while you spend millions on marketing and paying your staff the best ages they have ever
    seen!  Hahahaha


  > Anyway - If anyone needs some help or advice - just ask - we are all friendly here and this is a great game - I use it for my Economic Studies and training on my accountancy statement reading.


Welcome to Airway SIM (I've included some screenshot of Fuel Management / Aircraft on Order /  Pax Punctuality / Airplane Scheduling for -

good examples of what to achieve in your airline from the start. -

no problem - glad to help - shaken not stirred please if your getting the drink in > ;z with a twist of lemon



- CEO STARBEAM AIRWAYS - (The World is Ours to Travel...)

[burgric]

All very good points @StarBeam2 , thanks! I had a question about your scheduling screenshot- it looks like you are flying your C-46As during the night (00:00-06:00). Are those routes cargo only?

[Cardinal]

it looks like you are flying your C-46As during the night (00:00-06:00). Are those routes cargo only?

Those look like redeye flights. They leave before midnight and arrive around or after 5am. My advice is don't fear the redeye 

[StarBeam2]

All very good points @StarBeam2 , thanks! I had a question about your scheduling screenshot- it looks like you are flying your C-46As during the night (00:00-06:00). Are those routes cargo only?

Yeah these are dedicated cargo flights that can run through the night and add to your revenue ten-fold if you ensure to implement them.

I have redeye flights myself with how much work i put in at night on this hahaha

[StarBeam2]

This is probably the most important aspect of helping your finances whilst running your airline. The hedging fuel contracts are paramount to lock in as much profit throughout the duration of the contract - but it can easily switch and reverse if you're not careful, so be sure to do as much to minimise losses when hedging your fuel contracts.

This game - I have done well - - I opted for 100% hedge amount of fuel and received a yearly hedging contract when the game started - as you can see from the screenshot - it has served me well so far...

It runs out in August 1951 and it looks it may switch just and reverse before then - so next time I hedge - I will speculate and analyse and maybe take a 3-4 month contract next time depending on the data and fundamentals

Also any aircraft that is not making a profit or outdated later in the game - make sure to sell them / store them or lease them so as not to lose $$$ like a leaking tap!


-CEO Starbeam Airways


How is your airline coming along anyway @burgric ?



- CEO Starbeam Airways

[burgric]

Things are running well! I wish I had hedged back when fuel was down at $35 though!

I've put a big emphasis on company image with my airline. This trickles down to a few decisions:

• Marketing - I've had a permanent general campaign running at full steam across all marketing channels across my entire base country (China) since the start of the game. On my "moneymaker" route (Guangzhou to Shanghai), I've kept the route marketing going past just a few months to get that route image as high as possible as fast as possible. I'm now at the point where I can increase ticket prices above average because the load factors are in the 90s.
• Personnel/flight delays - I've been manually handling personnel myself, mostly so that I can give everyone on my payroll a 25% increase over the suggested wage to keep morale high. I've also hired many more than suggested in some key areas- particularly, I currently employ 225% of what is suggested for ground crew. I hate seeing that "lack of staff" in my reasons for delays. Fortunately, most of my delays now (and all my cancellations) are caused by weather. Hovering at about 95% punctuality right now, with an average delay of only 1 min!
• Seat configuration - This is the first time I've experimented with this. I've sacrificed about ~10 seats per flight to provide standard C seating over the cramped. So far my company image is very high (I'm ranked 22 out of all 214 airlines) and continuing to grow, so I think I will continue with this moving forward (but probably won't reduce C seats any further unless I allocate some to Y and F).

There doesn't seem to be much cargo for domestic flights in China, or at least from my base airport. What's the best way to find routes with enough cargo to justify a cargo-only flight?