The Flooding Tactic

[Chavaquiah]

Nowadays airline prices are so fluid that it's even told - only half jokingly - that in any given flight probably no two passengers payed the same fare.

Where AM differs substantially from "real life" is that in the real airline business a 0.01€ change at the very last second does not mean the difference between a full plane and one at less that half capacity. That, plus incredibly low costs, means AM can become at times more of a shoot 'em down type of game instead of a management sim.

[Max2147]

If AM allowed airlines to set differing service levels that would help a lot with the cutthroat aspect of the game.  Unfortunately that's probably a ways off given all the other stuff the staff has on their plates.

With increased costs you'd probably see a lot more airlines going bankrupt.  While it would be more realistic, it would also make the game nearly impossible for a newbie who joins mid-round.  Maybe one of the worlds in multiworld could be an 'advanced players only' world with much higher fuel, crew, and other costs.

[mahka42]

the airline industry in the real world tends to have a real pack attitude towards pricing... it is nice to see it mimicked in game [though i admit the dynamics of 1 euro differences needs a little work still. along with one or two other tiny quirks].

I was reading an article earlier today about the fuel surcharge in the States.  airlines keep trying to jack it up but every time have failed and it's dropped back to its old levels.  when one ups it, all the other majors follow... when one backs off the rest back off again.  always interests me how the game mimics this behavior on routes [as there's few to no fun "hidden/passenger fees" to play with 'ere].

hah, yes.  although i think the latest of $40 from American, matched now by Delta, is sticking...though this surcharge is not on any routes that low-cost carriers (Southwest, AirTran, JetBlue, etc.) fly.

maybe one of the things that may be useful so that we can see when things are moving around is sort of a display of our fare and the average fare on a route, displayed on the "view routes" page?  i mean, that's pretty much how the airlines do it...they have a team (revenue management) monitoring prices.

[waerth]

Why is flooding called a tactic btw? When I hear the word tactic I thnk of something someone had to work hard for to come up with and use thier brains for ....

This flooding is neither .... not hard to come up with and no brains required.

Waerth

[dktc]

Why is flooding called a tactic btw? When I hear the word tactic I thnk of something someone had to work hard for to come up with and use thier brains for ....

This flooding is neither .... not hard to come up with and no brains required.

Waerth

It may not be hard for you, but might be for others. Be kind. :wink:

As my best friend loves to say, "We can't blame brainless people. It is not their faults that they don't have a brain."

[Air Elbonia]

Why is flooding called a tactic btw? When I hear the word tactic I thnk of something someone had to work hard for to come up with and use thier brains for ....

This flooding is neither .... not hard to come up with and no brains required.

Waerth

it may be a tactic at the most basic level, much as "counterattack", "passive aggressive" and a few other broad flavors of more detailed tactics are.   in AM a basic tactic would be 'flooding' whereas the precise points of flooding and their fleet composition and refinement [to mitigate your losses and inflict maximum damage] may bring in potentially the intricacies the likes of which won Napoleon many a battle.

And, actually what i hear the $40~ fuel surcharge sticking is a rarity.  "a few routes", is hardly sticking. "a few routes" can [in reality] charge a fare of over $1,000. this doesn't mean that "fares are rising", nor that high ticket costs are sticking.

[mahka42]

And, actually what i hear the $40~ fuel surcharge sticking is a rarity.  "a few routes", is hardly sticking. "a few routes" can [in reality] charge a fare of over $1,000. this doesn't mean that "fares are rising", nor that high ticket costs are sticking.

Unfortunately, it's sticking a little more and more now...and the deals that come through my inbox every Monday night/Tuesday morning are becoming rarer.  i don't think my travelocity alerts have sent me anything for nearly a year now...i guess it's time to reset what is a "cheap" price.

[mproger@gmail.com]

the airline industry in the real world tends to have a real pack attitude towards pricing... it is nice to see it mimicked in game [though i admit the dynamics of 1 euro differences needs a little work still. along with one or two other tiny quirks].

I was reading an article earlier today about the fuel surcharge in the States.  airlines keep trying to jack it up but every time have failed and it's dropped back to its old levels.  when one ups it, all the other majors follow... when one backs off the rest back off again.  always interests me how the game mimics this behavior on routes [as there's few to no fun "hidden/passenger fees" to play with 'ere].

Air Elbonia, it is so hard to get a price increase to stick for carriers IRL.  for a price increase to stick, everyone has to agree to it within a reasonable time - whereas only one person has to lower prices for everyone to lower them.  I've seen examples (like these fuel charge thing) where people like AA start a 20$ fuel surcharge, DL, NW, UA match on the overnight price transmission but CO sits out.  Sometime the next day DL, NW, UA all pull back to a 10$ surcharge and CO comes in with the 20 surchage but it's too late. they missed their chance.  Crazy Stuff.

[mproger@gmail.com]

And, actually what i hear the $40~ fuel surcharge sticking is a rarity.  "a few routes", is hardly sticking. "a few routes" can [in reality] charge a fare of over $1,000. this doesn't mean that "fares are rising", nor that high ticket costs are sticking.

Unfortunately, it's sticking a little more and more now...and the deals that come through my inbox every Monday night/Tuesday morning are becoming rarer.  i don't think my travelocity alerts have sent me anything for nearly a year now...i guess it's time to reset what is a "cheap" price.

   unfortunately?  when fuel prices go up - ultimately that cost should be passed to the customer.  Most airlines have a problem passing 40% of the fuel increase to customers.

[Rob Hirst]

Hense why many US carriers are struggling in the profit department. If they all played ball with the surcharges and stuck to their guns they'd all be better off. Although that would be seen as a cartel agreement and they're not allowed are they  :wink:

Rob