16 replies to this topic

[UKDirect]

These two airlines appeared on the Manchester - London Heathrow with $0 prices. Looking at the airlines they have never made a profit and are ghosts designed to free up slots! What can be done about this?

Hongy Kongy Airlines
Eurotrash Air

[drv4truk]

Nothing but wait them out. Miller or Toque have to come up with a solution for this as it is becoming a problem.

[UKDirect]

Shocked as s*** Airways - A Shockwave Subsidiary

[drv4truk]

Add George W Bush Air - f*ck the French! - #877

To this list.

[dianemather]

I definately think you need something that only allows you to lower the price so much. Cristina in the office had to leave FRA due to the arrival of an A321, A330 and A340 on the FRA-MAD route by the friendly AUSTRALIS flying the route at $50. We all know this would never happen in real life and as we are trying to simulate real life restrictions (regulation) may be required. I know that AUSTRALIS is just trying to drive out the other carriers however what is does is drive out the little airlines who have no chance to compete against these tactics and hence end up leaving the game. A suggestion was made before for seperate worlds i.e. Big boys in one world , the little guys in another, when you reach big boy status you move. I am not sure how feasible this is but it would solve this and a few other issues.

Diane

[drv4truk]

Actually, I think there needs to be a minimum range set on the larger aircraft. ie: Minimum distance for A340 should be 1500 miles instead of these people that are using them on 150 mile routes.

[nzacndtrcwrdwfox]

No I disagree. While Australis has been reknown for his predatory pricing, to try to compete with him on one of his major routes is practically insane for a small airline to try. The only way a small airline will become succesful is to search for niche routes from smaller airports. There is some out there, you just have to find them.

I agree, it is difficult to get going when you are small at this point in the game, however, you are shooting yourself in the foot by flying routes like FRA-MAD...

[dianemather]

Originally posted by jetamerica
No I disagree. While Australis has been reknown for his predatory pricing, to try to compete with him on one of his major routes is practically insane for a small airline to try. The only way a small airline will become succesful is to search for niche routes from smaller airports. There is some out there, you just have to find them.

I agree, it is difficult to get going when you are small at this point in the game, however, you are shooting yourself in the foot by flying routes like FRA-MAD...

Actually Cristina has been on the route for sometime and AUSTRALIS has just arrived. Now I know she needs to move however unlike a mega carrier she does not have the funds to keep moving out of the way of the Big Boys, today FRA tomorrow MAD next day ? see what I mean. The idea of distance restrictions by PSA makes sense to me, good idea!

Diane

[VC-10]

Yes but what do you do with unused hours? For example, I have an A330-300 on LHR-YYZ, and LHR-Valencia.

[nzacndtrcwrdwfox]

I'm positive that Australis has been on MAD-FRA for awhile, although perhaps he has radically increased capacity recently. Either way, you need to grow on smaller routes initially and then when you get bigger, challenge the bigger routes.

I've gotten pretty big by staying away from the major hubs: I started off in Atlanta initially, but soon saw that it would be crowded before long. So I moved to Tampa with only one main competitor. Now I'm in 20th place and serve 85 destinations from Tampa. Tampa is definitely not a major city, but when you have a 30 gate hub and over 120 connecting flights from MCO to HKG, its pretty profitable.

Grow first, then challenge the big boys. Having a seperate world for smaller airlines wouldn't make sense OR be realistic. Why do so many startups fail? Too much competition from established carriers. This is what your seeing. And what would determine whether you are "small" or "large"? And the range idea is bad aswell. I have a few extra hours that I want to put on a crowded shorthaul route. This is the most efficient use of hours.

I don't think bigger airlines should be punished in an attempt to help smaller ones.

[Maestro69]

Actually, i have been flying that route since i took over Bluewings Frankfurt operations, which has been a while back, dianemather. Now, dont get me wrong, i all for helping small airlines, but when they start eroding ur profit on routes, u either give in or do something about it. I decided, i wasnt going to leaving anytime soon and thus, took matters into my own hands.

Now, on this issue, we could elaborate and say that AE needs more airports and that could solve some of this overcrowding issues on routes as there would be plenty of airports around for people to establish a base and grow from. I guess, the overwhelming fact is that we all got to live with these sitautions occuring, even if people do or dont like it.

[drv4truk]

Originally posted by dianemather
I definately think you need something that only allows you to lower the price so much. Cristina in the office had to leave FRA due to the arrival of an A321, A330 and A340 on the FRA-MAD route by the friendly AUSTRALIS flying the route at $50. We all know this would never happen in real life and as we are trying to simulate real life restrictions (regulation) may be required. I know that AUSTRALIS is just trying to drive out the other carriers however what is does is drive out the little airlines who have no chance to compete against these tactics and hence end up leaving the game. A suggestion was made before for seperate worlds i.e. Big boys in one world , the little guys in another, when you reach big boy status you move. I am not sure how feasible this is but it would solve this and a few other issues.

Diane

Australis isn't a spolier. He is actively playing AE and making a profit. The spoilers are airlines that are set up just to put $0 or $1 ticket prices on all routes and do not make a profit.

[dianemather]

Originally posted by Maestro69
Actually, i have been flying that route since i took over Bluewings Frankfurt operations, which has been a while back, dianemather. Now, dont get me wrong, i all for helping small airlines, but when they start eroding ur profit on routes, u either give in or do something about it. I decided, i wasnt going to leaving anytime soon and thus, took matters into my own hands.

Now, on this issue, we could elaborate and say that AE needs more airports and that could solve some of this overcrowding issues on routes as there would be plenty of airports around for people to establish a base and grow from. I guess, the overwhelming fact is that we all got to live with these sitautions occuring, even if people do or dont like it.

I did say that I understand why you are doing what you are doing, I would do the same if I could. I meant no disrespect only that small carriers find it hard to compete, the idea of more airports would certainly help.

Diane

[737MMA]

This is probably the brightest person playing AE.


Gotta Love This Guy

[thehammy]

Who might this person be lol ??

[737MMA]

The person dumping 1000 seats on a low yield route...BRILLIANT! International Airways

[UKDirect]

You can spot the 'spoilers' by checking their financial information. An airline that has been consistently in profit and is posting low ticket prices is probably looking for market share on that route and is subsidising losses on that route from others it is running. I see this as ligitimate.

The spoilers are those that have never made a profit and in particular have very low, almost zero ticket sales.

They also usually have 3 beech or j31 indicating they have bought from a "sister" airline run by the same person.

Where these circumstances are identified the airlines should be removed as there is no ligitimate reason for an airline to behave like that.

Another one to add to the list is
DPRK Air