mistertrasher

I find it implausible that the A340-300, with 4 gas guzzling engines made in the 1990s, only runs at 39,936 fuel flow. Not sure if the numbers can be hot-fixed at all, but for the sake of realism & accuracy they really should be. It's the one of the most efficient long-haul aircraft in the game. 

I also don't think this is an isolated problem. The C919 has a ridiculously low fuel flow of 11,827 and holds 190 passengers. Only downfall is the 1898 mi range. But this is almost unbelievably efficient when the A320NEO (189 passengers) sits at 14,994 and B737-8 max (200 passengers) is at 15,401. I think I smell fish here...

Definitely agree with AE Dev's point on transitioning away from a game model involving constant expansion of airlines. 

In a way, it will not be possible for AE Devs to make AE fully realistic in this respect though. In the real world we have many multitudes of airlines; there are over 5000 airlines with ICAO codes. At this moment, no single server in AE allows for more than 300 airlines or so. So without the competition that airlines face in real life, airlines in AE are able to make unrealistically high profits because most routes are simply run by one airline. This in turn means that airlines in AE virtually always turn a profit and can therefore buy additional aircraft ad infinitum. 

One way to solve this issue is by creating servers which allow for 5000+ AE airlines. I doubt this is feasible though as it could crash the server.

Another option would be for AE Devs to put upper limit caps on the number of aircraft that can be purchased from each series. For example, no airline would be allowed to purchase more than 70 from the B757s series, 50 from the A330s series, etc. To avoid disadvantaging those airlines who wish to operate as a RyanAir style European budget airline exclusively with B737s or A320s, the B737, A320 and any analogous class of narrow-body aircraft could be exempt from the caps. In this instance, geography and range limits on the B737 would constrict the size of the airline. Also to stop airlines from simply buying up to the cap for each aircraft series in the game and thus in effect building huge fleets of 600+ aircraft, AE Devs might consider increasing the base maintenance costs for each series of aircraft using a variable formula in line with the number of series of aircraft which an airline has. For instance, if an airline has B737s, A330s, B757s and B777s, the base maintenance costs for each of these aircraft series would be far higher than an airline which only operates aircraft in the A320 series. Indeed, in real life it costs airlines far more in maintenance the more aircraft the airline has from different series because they each require different maintenance practices and expertise. Perhaps AE Devs could also further increase the number of maintenance employees required by the AE airline. Not sure if all this is feasible though from a programming perspective - might require consequential changes to other things and this could be time consuming for AE Devs. Just some ideas. 

Also a more user-friendly way to replace older aircraft in need of retirement with newer ones purchased/leased using a 'click the box on the left hand side to replace all the selected aircraft at the same time' type function would be brilliant rather than having to click into each one individually. It becomes a HUGE hassle when you have large numbers of aircraft.    

Otherwise this is a great game. Brilliant attention to detail with all the different aircraft types. I love being able to buy my favourite commercial aircraft and set them on my favourite routes around the world.

Can’t wait to see a potential inclusion of the B777X when more information becomes publicly available to allow for this, or even the rumoured B797 several years from now. 

Thanks AE Devs!