Terminals - are they worth it?

[Air Tycho]

Before I'm going to build a terminal, I'd like to ask a question to someone who has already built it: is it worth it and what are the positive as well as the negative sides?

[SJR]

Well with building a terminal you can get gates at an airport that has sold out of gates. This is a major plus for me since three of my bases were sold out. I therefore built a terminal at Larnaca in Cyprus and although it cost a bit at first i have had no major costs in addition. I also managed to return my leased gates at the airport and still was able to add new flights.

I shall however reserve judgement as to whether a terminal is worth while because with a few airports it will depend on who else is there and what flights you plan to operate from it as well as the most obvious what airport the terminal is at. I personally wouldn't see the point in opening a terminal at somewhere like Amsterdam because there are too few routes left that are not already saturated.

[Armygrognard]

Before I'm going to build a terminal, I'd like to ask a question to someone who has already built it: is it worth it and what are the positive as well as the negative sides?

For me, yes.  I was able to get the camel nose under the tent and grab four gates at a large (for this stage of the game) city.  I hubbed it and now added a terminal to expand my flights out.  It's worth it to the tune of 4 million Euros daily that the city is bringing in for me.

[Pilgrim]

I think they worth it, if used properly.

I've now built 2 at 2 hubs, i just wish we could share them with alliance members.

Expensive though... especially at the big airports... and theres the issue about giving up gates to competitors to expand with by doing it.

[Air Tycho]

Can you expand a terminal if you only have 1 rented gate?

[Air Elbonia]

you can expand a terminal indefinitely, the rented gate automatic return only applies if you have gates rented (so once you've returned all of them in one manner or another, you can still keep building onto your terminal).

[Air Tycho]

If I've returned the last rented gate, is the airport where the terminal is located in still considered a base city?

[MrOrange]

Yes.

[Air Tycho]

Thanks - just wanted to make sure.

BTW: is it also possible to expand a terminal with 1 gate? It hasn't worked for me though...

[Dora]

So the only advantage of building a terminal is that we can create a new focus city base at the airports where all gates rented out?
Also, is there any ways that we can see if airlines have build terminals at their base or focus cities?

[SJR]

You have to have a base at that airport but yes that is how it works

[kitler]

wait so do I have to pay 40,000 each month?

or is it just a one time fee?

[Max2147]

One rather annoying feature of building a terminal:

I built a 9-gate terminal at one of my bases.  I immediately added a lot of flights, but ran out of aircraft in the process.  I had about 40 slots left, so I ordered new planes to eventually fill those slots.  Unfortunately, by the time those planes came 4 of my rented gates had been tagged, returned, and sold to other airlines.  Now I have to build even more gates.

[Air Elbonia]

wait so do I have to pay 40,000 each month?

or is it just a one time fee?

Big fee is one-time to build, relatively large fees are for expansion (charged on a gate by gate basis), and there's a monthly charge of 3/4ths normal gate rental applied every month. (38,500 for a 50,000; 75,000 for a 100,000; 113,500 for a 150,000; 150,000 for a 200,000; 188,500 for a 250,000; 225,000 for a 300,000).  I just threw those numbers up off the top of my head, so the math may be a little off, but it should be pretty close.  Typically the heaviest portion of a players gate rental fees are from gates at their focus cities, so this can amount to a reasonably significant savings on a month-to-month basis in the long term.

And yeah, Max, that's how it's designed to work.  Not always fun, as it does open up more room for competition, however i think in the end it is worth it for smaller (in terms of gates held) players at an airport giving them indefinite room to expand.  Present mega-holders at airports may not be so interested, as they're likely holding them in an effort to prevent competition in their hubs.

[Air Elbonia]

Thanks - just wanted to make sure.

BTW: is it also possible to expand a terminal with 1 gate? It hasn't worked for me though...

As in build a terminal at an airport which you only hold 1 gate at? No. the normal rules must be applied where you must rent at least 4 gates to establish a focus city at an airport before building a terminal.

Expanding an existing terminal of yours by only 1 gate should be possible.

Expanding an allies terminal is always impossible.