Concerning €1 Routes

[pseudoswede]

New players will not last long in AirlineMogul.  It's just not going to happen.  Why?  Because a new player jumping in has to deal with:

1.  Saturated high-profit routes, that make it hard to break in and make any money.
2.  Price wars driving down some of the aforementioned routes, such that nobody is making any money on them.
3.  The necessary expansion of the larger airlines who, in order to maintain the aforementioned price wars, must then branch out and saturate every other route they can possibly make money on.

I started in April 2006 (year 6 of a 7-year round). When I started out, I was smart enough to know to avoid highly competitive routes and find out routes that were profitable. Once profitable, I hopped on competitive routes that weren't €1. In the 19.5 game months I played, I was still able to amass over 100M DOP (with only 4 focus cities). In short: pick your battles carefully, and fight only when well-equipped.

This is why we keep resetting the game periodically: games like AirlineMogul must, eventually, reach a static equilibrium, where, eventually, prices reach a stable point.  Unfortunately, as the last turn shows, that equilibrium is, all too often, where nobody's really making any money, because "equilibrium" on so many routes is 0-1 Euro.

I was the #2 airline in the 50's round, and I would say at the very most 3% of my routes were at €1 (I think I had close to 2000 routes).

If a noob decides to hop on a route with their B99 that is under €100, he deserves to go bankrupt quickly.

[Seattle]

AM is like a world with 100% Openskies and 4000 airlines to compete with that way and a pax base that never seems to end.

[StephenM]

Slight correction there, near 100% openskies, however you are restricted to your home continent except where in an alliance.

[Pacific]

I just changed the opener since people were not happy about it.

Please flame away on this thread, but not elsewhere on this forum.

[dktc]

I don't understand why you changed it, Pacific.

People DON'T want us mods here, remember?

We don't care because people DON'T want us to care.

Why is this thread stickied and left alone? Treat it as an experiment. See how you all would argue and go at each other. See how many flame would result. We locked potential flaming threads and get complaint for that, so now we should just let this run. This might be seen by some people as childish revenge, but hey! I am just giving you all what you want... or at least what the most vocal people want, which the others don't bother contradicting.

@SirThoreth, we try to help. We actively help out users. However, you all have to help us help you. When something is infeasible, it is not workable. As I have told Stephen, we could encourage all suggestions, however ridiculous they are, and implement them. However, that would not make those suggestions work. If we implement them, the game won't work. Simple. Call it hostile if you want to, but we are just telling you the truth, and let you out of the "I am right, I am the best" bubble.

@ashenwelt, but conscious, we as mods should have locked that post. However, as a concensus, the community does not want any interference in this topic... so...

Just let us know when you all have had enough of this, and we will lock this thread. Until then, flame on!

[myefre]

If people would stop putting 100 seat aircraft at 3-4 freq on highly competitve routes, it would slow down the fare wars. Use the extra hours for other routes and hence more $$$$$  :wink:

I was top 5 last time and top 10 this time and I just do 1 freq and find more cities.  

[nwadeltaboy]

just for clarification, i typed h*ll in, the mods didn't change anything there.

and putting "just play the game the way it should be played" is not getting the same message accross.  i started this thread so people would do just that...shut the heck up.  to stop making these whiney-whiney-woe-is-me posts.  nothing to do with gameplay at all.

[WingsOTWorld]

I heard my airline somewhere in this thread  :-p

[CornField]

I heard my airline somewhere in this thread  :-p

You just got compared to Ajax....., nothing big
Sorry, couldn't refuse...  Just found out this is an old friend from the blue game

[ALFC]

i just started 1€ing some routes  

[DAK]

i just started 1€ing some routes  

You and I are still pretty civilised out of CDG, I have no 1 euro routes out of CDG yet...

Thanks for the heads up  

Am too busy building my route network to update routes that are still over 75%. I will have a lot of work waiting for me.

[waerth]

i just started 1€ing some routes  

Wow that's a big boy  

Waerth

[Pacific]

I don't understand why you changed it, Pacific.

It's called marketing and first impressions for first timers, you customer service professional.

[bad_kelpie]

Should Moderators be participating in 1 Euro death spiral?

Pacific.  You seem to be driving fares down to 1 Euro in all markets.  Your goal?  What is your incentive to not only be a Moderator (hopefully inclined to support an enjoyable game) but to be driving prices down to 1 Euro?

[Pacific]

Should Moderators be participating in 1 Euro death spiral?

Pacific.  You seem to be driving fares down to 1 Euro in all markets.  Your goal?  What is your incentive to not only be a Moderator (hopefully inclined to support an enjoyable game) but to be driving prices down to 1 Euro?

I don't have a single €1 route.  If I'm undercutting by €30 or so on a very crowded route, I'm doing the accelerated price drop strategy.
http://www.stephenm.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4358

Another note.  Moderators are only responsible for moderating the forums.  In the game itself, moderators are the same as any other player and is allowed to do anything within the rules, including but not restricted to dumping 5x 747s to kill a route.