OKla

Hello,

it´s a little bit difficult to reply to your problem, as you describe it in very generic terms. Basically playing AE requires patience and consistency, I tend to the opinion that this is the most important "secret".

It is normal to be in deficit at the beginning when you have to pay for maintanance, leasing of aircraft(s) and gates etc. But as some months pass by you will run a profitable airline, at least if you follow some basic rules:

At the beginning choose an airport that is only medium-sized (avoid for example JFK, ORD, LAX, LHR, CDG, FRA etc. as your initial airport) in order to be charged with only moderate gate leasing fees. When you choose your aircrafts, try to use only fuel-efficient ones - fuel costs make up for 50-75 % of your operational costs. It´s up to you to operate a low-cost airline with Y-class only, but in order to make the most out of your routes it is better to include at least M-class as well. Furthermore, don´t compete with significantly bigger airlines on the same route as they have the power to push you out of the market by underpricing or flooding the route with flights. Check your routes regularly if a competitor entered the market. Get rid of unused gates, this is especially true at the very beginning as you get 5 gates at your initial airport, but basically you need only one or two. When your airline is growing, try to buy leased aircraft from the lessor after three or four years of lease. "Exploit" your leased gates - try to use as many slots as possible instead of flying only 10 weekly flights to that specific destination.

I sincerely hope that these handy hints will help you to establish a profitable airline.