Use gate search. It's one of the most powerful tools if you upgrade to premium. It can also help you find your next base by searching for big airports.
You got base strategy right!
I would suggest Shanghai for your next base, but I don't know how close it is.
What frequency are you using? If you're using more than 1x, then drop it down to 1x, as it is the most economical frequency (after 0.5x, but you can only have two of them per aircraft).
What is your starter plane?
To find suitable aircraft, use aircraft search. It is also a powerful tool where you can find aircraft. The premium upgrade differs from the standard only by letting you enter the numbers instead of showing them on a drop-down menu.
When upgrading to jets, one of my favourites in that time era is the Tupolev 334 (although it has a relatively short range), Embraer regional jets and the A319/320.
The difference between Embraer jets and Bombardier jets is the range to price ratio. A CRJ-1000 with 1600nm range costs ~18 million; an ERJ-145 with 1600 nm range costs ~16 million. But one of the biggest advantages of ERJ over the CRJ is the crew. ERJ only has one, while CRJ has two. And last but not least, the ERJ uses less fuel than CRJ. The only drawback is that Embraer halts behind Bombardier in terms of evolution.
Long range isn't profitable. Use it only to make a neat route map. And as a rule of thumb, don't use aircraft over 300 passengers, they will cost too much. I would recommend the A330-200 or B767-200ER.
I hope this helped you have a great game!
PS: Can you post a link to your airline?
