Expensive Gate & Grounded VC10?

Greetings everybody.

I've recently signed up (Hi! I'm new) and after a bit of playing, have run into two problems that are causing me to lose money (About 13 million since last night.)
Searching the forums didn't come up with much, so I hope I can get some help. Please accept my apologies if it has been answered already.

- I leased a Vickers VC-10 with a range just over 5,000nm (at max load.). I'm intending to create a route, AMS - DAL (Amsterdam - Dallas Love Field), about 4902nm. Range should be good.
 Dallas has a runway of 8800ft, AMS 12467. The plane needs 8200ft. Still good to go.

I've leased a gate at DAL, but when I try to 'Add flights', it shows up with no plane. I set the available hours option to 0, I even select the VC10 in the dropdown (It even says there's 1 VC10 idle.)
What am I doing wrong not to be able to make a flight? I've managed to make other flights just fine.

- I've been losing a lot of money on a single gate in Amsterdam. Currently, for 1 gate (I had 5, but accidently returned the unused ones.) I am paying more then 2,5m a month!
I've rented  gates in other places, ranging from 77k to 1,5k a month. Is 2,5 really correct?
If so, that'd make AMS a very  bad starting location

If I can fix these problems, I might actually be able to get out of the 10 million debt I have right now! I can do it......

thanks much for any help!

 

Go to DFW instead. DAL has complicated restrictions (aka the Wright Amendment) that limit it to aircraft with 56 seats or less, or surrounding states. (tldr American Airlines and a few defunct airlines lobbied for Wright in the 700 to stop a certain airline in its tracks. That airline is now the US' largest domestic carrier.)

But as a starting airline, I won't really be able to compete with the other airlines....and there's the monthly gate cost on a major airport (Another 2m?)

First lesson you have to learn: Never use a VC-10

VC-10's like drinking fuel.

And I noticed...they're spendy on maintenance.

Go for a Boeing 707 and if you can't find profitable routes, terminate the lease.

Go for anything Boeing or Airbus (generally the best). Try to avoid the Russian planes...

Try to avoid the Russian planes...

Not all of them are that bad.

Not all of them are that bad.

Almost all are. The Tu-154 is the only one I would have used often. I'm using 204s in Ra (I think) but they aren't the best..

The Tu-114 and Il-18 are quite good