103 replies to this topic

[Tesla]

 

This is a 3D problem.

 

Because you have the following dimensions for select a best profitable plane:

• PAX
• Range
• ERA

 

yes.  Very very true

 

12 months ago, LJ asked me how many routes I had found with demand for 2 daily A380s. From major tier 1 and 2 global cities, any route to another major capital in a major country will provide enough. LGW-JFK, LGW-MAD, LGW-DXB. Just to name 3. I would fly A380s to all aside from madrid because madrid is WAY TOO short for an a380 to justify it. I'd just flood the frequencies instead

[TheBlock]

The Il-18 is a good one

[Jarkii]

The most profitable aircraft are usually the most fuel efficient ones.

An aircraft's fuel efficiency can be described as fuel flow / seats. the lower the better.

Speed also increases the profitability of an aircraft, because it can fly more frequencies a week, making more money.

Look for the aircraft with the least fuel flow/ seats and best speed in respect.

[Jarkii]

Has anyone tried the C919? Ive just seen it has a fuel flow of 11,827 and a pax capacity of 190... It has roughly the same seating capacity as the A320NEO and 737-MAX8, but has less fuel flow than both of them. It's range is it's only disadvantage... but thats no problem if your using it domestic in US/China/Europe.

[Avelo]

ATR 42 Series: Good for extreme low demand regional routes
ATR 72 Series: Good for regional routes
Boeing 737/Airbus A320 Series: Good for short-medium haul (with the exception of Airbus A319-100 LR which can act as a long-haul airliner due to its range capability)
Boeing 747-400: The best in long-haul high demand routes (I never tried the Airbus A380 before so I don't know)

In the 70's I find the Lockheed L-1011 "Tristar" profitable.

You think the A380 is too big to be profitable?

[Tesla]

You think the A380 is too big to be profitable?

no. But it can be challenging to find routes for it to run at decent frequencies sometimes. And when you do, they can be heavily contested

[Jason Hite]

The problem with the A380 is the fact that if you use a more dense config it becomes really hard to provide decent frequency. And even if you do get enough demand to get good frequency, with demand comes competition, so you earn little per seat. I have 3 configs on my A380 currently, one 70 C 600Y config for domestic operations and routes, and two international configs, 8F 42C 350/416Y. It's a good thing you can only receive 1 A380 every 4 weeks otherwise I'd have too many for my own good.

[Tesla]

The problem with the A380 is the fact that if you use a more dense config it becomes really hard to provide decent frequency. And even if you do get enough demand to get good frequency, with demand comes competition, so you earn little per seat. I have 3 configs on my A380 currently, one 70 C 600Y config for domestic operations and routes, and two international configs, 8F 42C 350/416Y. It's a good thing you can only receive 1 A380 every 4 weeks otherwise I'd have too many for my own good.

that's the thing

 

To run an a380, you need at least 2 of these 3 things

High demand low competition airports with long runways 

High demand unnoticed routes

A high demand country of operation at both ends of the route (for connections mainly as backup)

 

If you have a high demand low competition airport and high demand unnoticed routes, you'll make a lot of money. If you don't have high demand unnoticed routes, you'll still make a good amount. If you have only one or none of the 3, you will likely get murdured. Having all 3 will be one of the rarest things and you should jump on it at the earliest opportunity

[Jason Hite]

that's the thing

 

To run an a380, you need at least 2 of these 3 things

High demand low competition airports with long runways 

High demand unnoticed routes

A high demand country of operation at both ends of the route (for connections mainly as backup)

 

If you have a high demand low competition airport and high demand unnoticed routes, you'll make a lot of money. If you don't have high demand unnoticed routes, you'll still make a good amount. If you have only one or none of the 3, you will likely get murdured. Having all 3 will be one of the rarest things and you should jump on it at the earliest opportunity

Yeah I agree. It's just hard to find all 3 together. It's not that I don't earn the same amount or a good amount of money, it's just the fact that the feasibility of using the A380 isn't for everyone. An airline running out of a small demand country/market will have difficulty utilizing the A380 to its full potential unless they're playing an open world.

 

And the A380's fuel burn for its size is excellent, about 10%-30% more efficient than the 747-400 and especially the 747-400ER.

[KMRobinson318]

One thing I learned from my last game: Don't replace A330-200s with 767-400ERs!

 

747-400s on the face of it would seem to be at the very least a good stop-gap while waiting for the A380s and 747-8Is to become available, but I actually found that switching to the 777-300ER actually made routes more profitable, despite a slight reduction in seating capacity...

 

Another thing I noticed was that in the used aircraft market, the vast majority of used aircraft are fitted with the "default" engine option (the one at the top of the list!), so I would exploit that for aircraft for which the default is best, but not for others.

 

Aircraft I've used for which the default engine option is best:

Any with only 1 option (obviously!)

A340-300

A340-600

777-300ER

787-9

[mastacheifa118]

I use 757s on nearly all of my transatlantic routes. Fantastic plane.

[Avelo]

I use 757s on nearly all of my transatlantic routes. Fantastic plane.

Hence its versatility is one reason why I considered it as one of my favorite planes to fly in AE

[mastacheifa118]

Hence its versatility is one reason why I considered it as one of my favorite planes to fly in AE

My game world is nearing the year 2000... gotta start spamming 757 orders now

[K97i]

Speaking of the cheapest airplane in the market,

What is the cheapest airplane in terms of range? 

ETC.

500-1000 mi

 

PS:sorry for posting this, I haven't played AE for so long.

[Kiraflank]

welcome to classic most that have them here like them ..they can have problems and can be a bear to work on ....but there really isnt a much better road bike out there than the 1500s

[yourick]

for 100 seats around 1960 id use the il-18 because the lease price is the lowest

[KMRobinson318]

Has anyone tried the C919? Ive just seen it has a fuel flow of 11,827 and a pax capacity of 190... It has roughly the same seating capacity as the A320NEO and 737-MAX8, but has less fuel flow than both of them. It's range is it's only disadvantage... but thats no problem if your using it domestic in US/China/Europe.

Just seen this from a while back, I used the C919 for China Western Airlines recently, replacing most of my A320-200s. Mostly it worked really well and they are super efficient, but that short range did mean I had to leave a few A320s running...

[Jarkii]

Tu-114 (220 seats). Very profitable, unique and cool to have as it is the fastest turboprop aircraft in existence. The C919 also has incredible fuel flow (11.9k), with 190 seats. I have made $300K+ DOP on one aircraft (conventional airline), making it a great choice for medium-high density short haul in the late game.

[KJS607]

I must admit that for a low cost airline from the 70's thru early 2000's, I find the DC-9 family to be a fabulously cheap fleet to run, with maintenance costs staying less than most competing aircraft right up until 30-35 years old.

 

It is also worth noting that high depreciation means that they are an absolute steal after around 10 years old on the used market.

[gvgch]

I'm not even new but what aircraft is better between 3000-5000 range with 300+ Pax and another aircraft between 300-1500 range to cover routes with 450 economy pax demand like that