While player-based gate leasing is great, if there is a large problem: gate space. I so often want to fly to gate-congested cities (like Oklahoma City) a few years into the game and find that either I have to build a terminal for the one gate I need or not launch the route, and if this was an international route, B is the only option, and yet so many airlines fly to Oklahoma City because of an absurd demand to gate ratio not typically associated with airports with that gate amount. For instance: three-airline alliance, all based in Europe. We all had to lease gates for 4 flights a day or so to fly there. Cost-inefficient and impractical, the system had us lease three gates that get about 3-5 hours of daily use when they can be blended into one and be used for 12-20 hours a day, when our planes spend that much time in a flight rotation a day? Airports that are well known are prime for high demand, and Oklahoma City is known for that.
Additionally, the Delta terminals at JFK (terminals 1, 2, and 4) are used by Delta, who gives space to airlines, most of which in their alliance. Out of the 27 airlines that operate internationally from terminal 4 (Aeromexico, Air Europa, Air India, Air Serbia, Asiana, Avianca, Avianca Brasil, Caribbean Airlines, China Airlines, China Southern, Copa Airlines, Delta Airlines, EgyptAir, El Al, Emirates, Etihad, Kenya Airways, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Kuwait Airways, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Swiss, Uzbekistan Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Volaris, WestJet, and XiamenAir), 8 of them are in the same alliance, one has 49% of it owned by Delta (Aeromexico, Air Europa, China Airlines, Delta Airlines, Kenya Airways, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, and XiamenAir). Similarly, also at JFK, Qantas (Oneworld member) uses Terminal 8, which is used by American Airlines. The full list of the 70-odd airliens that operate at JFK can be viewed at https://www.jfkairpo...flight/airlines
*The percentage of flights at the leased gate by an airline is equivalent of what that airline will pay, i.e. the airport is JFK, there are five gates leased and 4 airlines flying there within the same alliance, one airline operates 82% of flights from the gates [205/wk], so they pay 82% of the gate fees associated with JFK, one operates 2% of the remaining flights [5/wk], another operates 6% [15/wk] and the last operates 10% [25/wk], so airline 1 pays 82% of gate fees, airline 2 pays 2%, airline 3 pays 6%, and airline 4 pays the remaining 10%. If one airline is the sole carrier in the alliance or they have no alliance, they pay 100% of the gate fees.
^Players should also be able to lease gates or slots out to other airlines that are not in the same alliance