Some suggestions

[jm_london]

Hello everybody!

I apologize if some of my suggestions have been discussed in the past.
After completing 2 games in Airline Mogul, I think there's a few things that could be improved:

1) Airlines should be able to offer First and/or Business class. It would make the game more interesting as CEOs would have to choose configurations when ordering aircraft and then price accordingly. It would also make competition more interesting. I have seen in other -lesser- online games that you can decide what kind of seats and IFE you want to furnish your planes with, and will be charged accordingly when ordering them.

2) While creating a new route/flight, would it be possible to see the available aircraft BEFORE the route being created and charged? If you don't have an aircraft with enough hours then you don't create the route and you don't get charged for it. This is only fair as I think that with the actual information (aircraft aprox. available hours) is not enough to estimate whether it can make a flight or not.

3) More maintenance costs information and details would be very much appreciated, as it would help CEOs decide when it's time to let go an aircraft. Having said that, I'm not happy with the actual maintenance costs model. I run a reasonably healthy airline, with a fleet of 120, a monopoly on many routes, and little competition on others, a very high aircraft utilization, and a young fleet, (average 1.2 years) and still, maintenance costs are eating half of my monthly revenue. If I stop all expansion and start replacing aircraft at a 1 to 1 ratio, by the time I'd replaced the last one, I'd have to start replacing all over again. Last month I was charged over 300,000,000 (Three hundred millions) for a fleet of 120 (not all of them delivered, and not one of them 3 years old).

4) As much as I support deregulation, I believe some limits should be in place. I have seen routes flown by 20 airlines, some of them even offering 12 daily flights for 1E. It seems like some players don't want to build a decent airline and make a profit, just muddle things up. And long after they are out of business, we still see their flights poaching a good share of the passengers in that route. A possible solution would be to limit to 5-6 the number of airlines that can be based in a particular airport. First come, first served.

5) Do all gates really need to be bought/rented in batches of 10? What if you ONLY need one slot? Still pay full price for it? Why not offer "half gates" (5 slots) or allow slot renting between alliance members? An interesting source of revenue!

6) Why don't aircraft makers offer any credit facilities? Two prices could be offered for every aircraft: Cash (cheaper) and Credit (example, 10 instalments). Credit not to exceed -for example- 10-20% of the Airline's Value.

7) Something should be done with big aircraft, they can't be THAT inefficient. I have up-gauged routes without competition from an Airbus 319 to an Airbus 330, and found I'm making less money now. If the number of passengers in the route is "Excellent" (more than 2500 per day) then I should be able to charge the same price whether I am offering 140 or 290 seats, as I'm still not catching up with demand, and this is where big aircraft become VERY profitable.  I know AM has a preference for smaller aircraft, but I don't find any logic in the current arrangements.

And last but not least, I have come to the conclusion that small worlds are not worth to be played, allowing up to 4 bases in a 25 airport scenario like Europe limits creativity and encourages merciless price wars as there are not many expansion possibilities. It pretty much limits the game to who has the largest aircraft and charges less on the same route. It also makes long haul aircraft unprofitable, as there are very few places they can fly in their spare hours (sometimes even 11 hours per day!).

Many thanks anyway for this amazing and free game!

Jose
CONNECT's C.E.O

[Barrow]

I agree each and every things that you suggest, the long haul aircrafts in particular.

I recently bought an A340 for transpacific routes (KSFO/KSEA to Asia) and I just realized that I can only do one or (with luck) two routes with this aircraft. But the real problem is, that it's as profitable as a route flown by an A319 wich also flies to many other airports. In other words, the A340 is a ruin for me ! High cost, long wait, high maintenance for what ? Nothing interesting and I find it very disppointing.

Also, I think we should do more interesting things with alliances, like something that will let them be usefull because I feel that being in an Alliance isn't much for buisness but for fun, and even with that if nobody does a minimum "role playing", it's completly useless.

[1993matias]

Just some short comments, as it's past midnight and I have school tomorrow :

1) It has been discussed before, and what I understood was that it would mean a rewrite of several scripts. The staff is also prioritizing hotswap higher, but it hasn't been denied yet.

3) Currently, the maintenance fees are calculated fleet-wide, thus not allowing statistics for individual aircraft. Changes are coming to that sometime soon though.

5) The gate renting costs are minimal compared to your other expenses. Saving 50 % on a couple of your gates won't really be noticed.

6) I think this is partly covered by brokers. You pay a third of the price when requesting the aircraft, and the rest when receiving the aircraft.

7) I think Stephen is looking at making some new revenue script, but other things are being done first (hotswap).

8 ) It is up to each player to join the world he/she wants. With private worlds there are a huge variety of different worlds aside from the few public worlds, allowing you to choose freely.

I hope these few answers helped you!

Many thanks anyway for this amazing and free game!

You're welcome, and thanks for playing!

[jm_london]

Many thanks for your reply.

To wrap it up, I take it from your email that my suggestions 1) 3) and 7) have already been considered/discussed and we'll see some changes in the future.

I disagree with you on gate expenses (suggestion 5). It is an AM myth that they are almost irrelevant. I have made an excel simulation and renting one slot instead of ten (if you just need one) would generate monthly savings in the range of 7%-12% depending on many factors, such as competition, aircraft used, etc. Now, multiply this for a large number of routes and you'll see what a huge difference in millions it makes.
Also, there are other side-effects: Would create an additional source of revenue for airlines with unused slots AND if this is tied up to alliance membership then it'd boost the whole Alliance thing.

Regarding point 7), I haven't used any brokers yet, but it seems to me that by using them you only get a few months' credit (24, 48 or 72 days), depending on the aircraft ordered. I was talking about a longer term financing and or leasing.

Any comments about suggestions 2) and 4) of my previous email?

Oh, and regarding your answer number : I know there is a huge variety of different worlds to choose from, and I have never doubted that each player is free to join the world(s) they want. I just explained why I didn't like small worlds, and the consequences of having few airports to fly to/from.

Best regards,

Jose

[StephenM]

1: As Matias said other features have priority. I would rather get the revenue model right first before adding extra cabin types. I do have a model that would take into account different ways to satisfy demand such as multiple cabins.

2: Research route could be modified to allow creation of route from there. That should have it in the order you have suggested.

3: Maintenance won't be available for each aircraft but may be available for fleet types. In the real world its virtually impossible to get exact costs per aircraft but you can get parts/labour for the most part.

4: The game market should work out itself due to the lack of profitability at different airports would drive airlines elsewhere. It goes back to the revenue model, once we revise that running routes at €1 would not make sense.

5: Gate fees were there instead of airport charges. I did put in airport charges but you cannot see them, they are built into the route costs. Depending on airline profitability we can remove gates and their costs for the more realistic approach of airport charges.

6: Try the aircraft request system. That is a form of credit and a mechanism for fast growth. You don't even need a broker but they will give you better deals.

7: This comes back to the revenue model again, the current one just dilutes prices too much with widebody aircraft.

8: Small world's give people on a smaller token budget more options or focuses a small number of players in a concentrated area making more competition.

[Virgin Serbia]

4: If you don't like the competition, leave the route. It's that simple. And it happens in real life as well (the infamous Ryanair vs Easyjet at Dublin story).
When I do €1 routes (and I do it quite often) I do it with the sole purpose of pushing a/some competitor/s from the market. And it often works. Try it yourself if you dare

[13shiver]

I fully agree with the point 7, I recently started going trans atlantic with some 777's and I was actually making less money than before i started them with all the costs involved so I had to get rid of all my routes bar the ones out of heathrow just to start making a decent profit.