15 replies to this topic

[Russ]

What factors should I consider when deciding to graduate from Q400 to A318/B737.

I am not sure that there is any value to go to a RJ. The ROI seems to be higher waiting a little while longer and getting the bigger plane.

And should I bother with the 318 0r -600 or go bigger?

[737MMA]

No 318s or -600s. 319s, 321s, -700s and 800s

[quicktime]

A319's, cheap and make good money...

[Willip]

last game I had 10 A318's and they worked pretty well, but there is very little price difference between them and A319's

[Pacific]

When you run out of possible Q400 routes. A319 would be a good jet to start with.

[Russ]

When you run out of possible Q400 routes. A319 would be a good jet to start with.

What would you consider a good Q400 route? I have a feeling that I am not quite done with the Q400's but soon.

[Russ]

No 318s or -600s. 319s, 321s, -700s and 800s

Reading some previous threads, what about EMB170/190?

[737MMA]

Turn around times are too high for the shorter hauls I think...high fuel consumption... get a bigger jet

[VC-10]

The E-Jets are quite good, but get some 737s.

[Pacific]

I never bought the E-jets. For example, according to trip time calc, an E-jet can fly a 740nm route only 4x a day but an A319 can squeeze in 5.

[nzacndtrcwrdwfox]

Get A319's. There is often some undervalued new ones on the public market. The price between the 319 and 318 is so close that it's worth the wait.

On a sidenote, thanks Quicktime for the cheap A319's. Keep 'em coming.

[Russ]

A couple of other things I have learned to take into consideration since I posted this.

I think your DOP is also important. I posted this with a 5-600K DOP and it takes about 4 days to get a 737. In the mean time, I can't expand because my aircraft are fully commited. I will wait until my DOP is higher next time. I feel I lost growth opportunities that could have be satisfied by the Q400. I kept my J-31's longer than I wanted because I needed to hold gates.

The other thing is that my network was not as developed as I needed. This relates to the above. Gates became more important than aircraft as the game progressed. And not being able to add gates hindered my airlines development.

[AirKevin]

I suggest you wait until your DOP is around, say, 1 million. When that does happen, I also suggest you don't get your first jet, second, and so on until you get close to the actual price, so you don't go in serious debt. Then when you've established a good DOP, you can then buy jets at half price and afford to wait to get another plane. Then as your DOP gets higher, the rate at which you get planes becomes quicker. When you have at least 2,000,000 DOP, you will be able to go larger.

[Fly_Germany]

i jumped in early unsure of the outcome, but it has worked and i have replaced all my MAJOR Q400 routes with my first Airbus.. its nearly doubled my DOP but my DOP changes all the time. I risked it and it payed off for now, I suggest you work up some money just in case theres a stuff-up, try to wait for a good deal also

[Russ]

i jumped in early unsure of the outcome, but it has worked and i have replaced all my MAJOR Q400 routes with my first Airbus.. its nearly doubled my DOP but my DOP changes all the time. I risked it and it payed off for now, I suggest you work up some money just in case theres a stuff-up, try to wait for a good deal also

What I concluded was that as long as I was expanding that 2 Q400 were better than a 736/7. I could cover more gates and get an earlier return on investment. If on the other had, if your network is becoming staturated, switching to the jets is the thing to do.

[BarbulaM1]

Really, I think I switched to all jet routes by the time I hit a DOP of 1mil, but getting 1mil via Q400s in tha game at this time maybe rather difficult. But if you look at airlines on the top 20/30 some of them are still running their backbone with Q400s. One massive downside to jets is your profit ratio, I have been away from my airline for awhile and I am paying for it big time, I take about 1/4 of my ticket sales as profit (possibly the lowest ratio of any airline in the top 20/30 right now). A319s work great as Q400 replacements near Year 2, but it is a good idea to have a plan to upgrade the smaller jets to larger ones . So
Year 1: Q400s/1900Ds
Year 2: Q400s/A319s
Year 3: A319s/757/A330
Year 4: A319s/757/A330/747...