Daft Question From A Newbie

[clyde9971]

OK, here goes...........

I have searched the forum to the answer to this question with no joy so am hoping someone can point me in the right direction.

How many routes can an aircraft fly and how do I work this out ?

I currently have 1 aircraft flying 3 local routes, I can't afford a new aircraft unless someone can tell me the cheap way to do it. Therefore I would like to maximise the earning potential of my 1 aircraft.

Thanks in advance for your help and sorry if you have answered this millions of times before and I am too blind to find the answer.

[dktc]

Each aircraft has 24 hours available everyday. You can fly as many routes as you want until you have filled the 24 hours.

All you need is the flight time (route distance / speed) and turn time to figure it out.

[clyde9971]

OK thanks for that.

I presume that a block time of 1.19 is a 1hr 19min turnround ?

Also, whats the best/cheapest way to accquire additional aircraft for a new airline ?

Once again, sorry for being stupid.

[dktc]

1.19 hr = 1.19 hr... = 1hr and 11.4 mins

There is no "cheapest" way to acquire aircrafts. Each method has its own pros and cons.

Buying from manufacturer
- technically "cheapest" accounting wise
- need the whole chunk of cash up front, and thus delaying time of order and delivery, and thus return

Buying through brokerage request
- potentially better use of cash-flow
- delivery time largely depends on when a broker finance the request
- may get a discount, or may need to pay a premuim, depending on the mark-up

Leasing
- theoretically best use of cash
- owner of plane pays for maintenance, which you would save
- lease rates vary and you need to be wise in leasing
- if you get a profit out of the lease, your ROI would be high
- at times your revenue might not be able to cover the lease rate if you are not careful
- there is no built-in lease-to-own system in the game

Depending on the offers you get, the above three options could have different results in different situations. You would need to evaluate which is more cost effective on a case by case basis. Watch the forum and the world info message boards in the game. Official brokers and other players might offer deals that you would not want to miss out.

[clyde9971]

Many thanks for your help so far.

Here's another...........

I have been digging around the site and have come accross the fleet section. Are my aircraft automatically assigned to my fleet ? Is there any point other than personal in adding a fleet ?

Thanks Again 

[dktc]

If you buy aircrafts directly from the manufacturer (ie. the purchase option), the planes get delivered to you directly. If you do it through brokers (ie. the request option), you need to pick the plane up from the incoming private offer section in the aircraft market when the plane is ready.

The fleet system is just a fun feature. There is no "real" use in the game. It is solely for simulation / organizational purpose.

[clyde9971]

Thanks for your help so far 

Can you explain the brokerage system to me please as I've decided that I need a new plane and thats the way to get it. However, I would like some knowledge on the system before trusting a broker with my hard earned cash 

[dktc]

http://www.airlinemogul.com/manual/index.php/Brokerage_System

[clyde9971]

OK, Think I am starting to get the hang of the basics.

Next daft Question...........

I am based at Norwich Airport and I am after buying another new aircraft. I have my eye on a DeHavaland DHC4 Caribou which is bought from Dehavvaland Canada.

Does the fact that it is being made in Canada affect the delivery time considering I will be buying it direct?

[dktc]

Planes are teleported at delivery

[clyde9971]

Phew, thats a result 

[hippogroup]

OK, Think I am starting to get the hang of the basics.

Next daft Question...........

I am based at Norwich Airport and I am after buying another new aircraft. I have my eye on a DeHavaland DHC4 Caribou which is bought from Dehavvaland Canada.

Does the fact that it is being made in Canada affect the delivery time considering I will be buying it direct?

That would be a cool feature though.Like if I was based in Las Vegas and i bought an E120 it would take longer because the plane's being built in Brazil.

[Milouse]

A few more daft questions:

1. How do I monitor whether my price policy for food and beverages is succeful or not (is there somewhere a stat showing how much were sold or is it just about me fiddling blindly with the numbers?)?

2. Does the fleet mix impact maintenance costs. In real life, it is cheaper to operate a big fleet of one particular aircraft than operating 10 different types of airplanes for the same fleet size. Is this reflected in the game? Does the same apply to operational crew costs (due to training issues, lack of flexibility)?

3. Does the fact that I bring in passengers to my main base increase the number of passengers likely to connect with one of my other flights? And therefore, will international flights feed my domestic network, and will my domestic network feed my international one?

Thanks a lot!

[dktc]

1. Misc revenue

2. Not at this time, although it is being worked on in maint. Salary is not affected.

3. The so-called hub effect is added into the price vs load calculation. There would be a slight effect with the increase of flights. Whether the flights are domestic or international would not matter.

[Milouse]

Thanks a lot for your answers.

If I read correctly your answer to my question 1, there is no market research tool like there is for the routes to predict revenue from lunch/dinner/breakfast? It is all guess, and check in misc to see what improves?

Another daft question: I am thinking to buy my first aircraft. When I look on the used market, there is a table that gives a value for the aircraft and a sale price. Then, when I click on the aircraft I am interested in purchasing, there is a more detailed page about the aircraft, including a table showing a value for that aircraft. But that value is different from the value shown in the first table. What are both values supposed to mean? Is one the value for a new aircraft, and the other an estimated market value for the given aircraft?

Finally, if you decide to retire an aircraft, rather than selling it (because you think you won't be able to sell it anyway), how do you do?