Yes…another disclaimer
The following information has been compiled for the purpose of progressing through Airline Manager (known hereafter as “the game” or “game”). You are in no way obligated to follow all or any of the information that follows. Further, you are not in any way required to continue reading. In fact…if there is any part of you that wishes to stop reading please do so, I don’t want you to feel “forced” into exposing your eyes to anything that may follow. What is to come is one version or style of play, that many have agreed is “helpful” or other derivatives of the word. There are countless other ways to play (though only one other that I know of is documented…so maybe there is only two, no…I’m kidding there are countless ways to play just ask any lazy fuck that hasn’t read the boards why they have 45 A319s because they’re playing “realistically”) The way that is outlined is a very popular way of playing, that doesn’t mean it’s “correct” it just means it’s a common style. I’d like to also say that there isn’t a “wrong” way to play this game. By design anyone can pick any “unused” name for their airline buy any aircraft in any affordable amount and click themselves into oblivion and “win” (hahaha…laugh that’s a joke…you can’t win in this game there is no end to it) Consider this guide a list of suggestions and explanations of why/how (note I may not always explain why…or how) Follow this guide and the following will result. You will have far too much virtual money to spend on your virtual airline. Deviate from this guide and You’ll still make virtual money…but I can’t say how much. Substitutions for aircraft made in this guide will change your results…unless you make the calculations for the aircraft you wish to buy instead of the one suggested. (if you don’t know how…well this guide will show you.)
A few assumptions were made in the creation of this guide. First, you understand English. (if you don’t then my sincerest apologies, I have no way of translating this guide into a language you understand and I am not responsible for how well/poor google does at translating my antics…I get wordy sometimes and I tend to ramble) Second, you have already read “Fast Track Guide 2.0” This is a follow up guide to that (which was a follow up guide to the original) and rather than repeat 95% of what most people already know, this guide adds a few tweaks to the first guide due to the changes made to the game. Both guides will be updated going forward. Finally, This guide is going to START with the player deciding to buy either the a380 800 or the 900.
FTG X Section 1
The Decision
So…you’re ready to begin the final push towards cementing your fleet…or are you? With the introduction of the 900 series a380 a debate has ensued over whether or not it’s worth it to purchase the 800 first and then transition to the 900. Well either way you decide you’re right…or wrong. Before we get into the “math” of it, I’m going to say this…you will purchase the 900…when is obviously up to you, whether it’s after the 800 or in place of it…you will at some point purchase this aircraft, you’ve come this far with money being the motivator no reason to get all sentimental now.
OK in the last guide if you’re following that you have 100 slots left in your “active fleet”. A fine number if I do say so myself. Below are the figures carried over from FTG 2.0 along with “work shown” so you can follow along.
1 a380-800 has a total retail price of $216,061,503
Has a total passenger capacity of 644 and a maximum range of 20,000KM
(and for those fuel nuts 19lbs per KM of fuel burn)
Now in the guide you read that I suggested a twice a day launch of the 800 which is as follows
10,000KM x 644 / 2 = 3,220,000 – 200,000 for airport fees and the total possible per trip is 3,020,000 x 2 trips per day is 6,040,000.
Not bad for one aircraft…at this point in the guide the daily earnings for the entire airline should be just over 1 billion…allowing you to buy 5 with money left over
So 5 a380s x 6,040,000 = 30,200,000
100 a380s flying max pax twice a day will earn 604 million per day with a total a380 investment of 21,606,160,300…that’s billion
“oh hell no I’m just going straight for the 900” well that’s an option…but consider this
1 a380-900 has a total retail price of $397,011,000 (180,949,497 more than an 800)
Has a total passenger capacity of 875
(and for those fuel nuts again…21lbs per KM of fuel burn)
First let’s try a direct substitution of the 800 with the 900 ok?
10,000KM x 875 / 2 = 4,375,000 – 200,000 for airport fees and the total possible per trip is 4,175,000 x 2 trips per day is 8,350,000 (2,310,000 more than an a380-800 per day)
Impressive! (no…it isn’t)
If you’re banking 1billion a day…that will allow you to buy only TWO 900s
8,350,000 x 2 = 16,700,000 in total a380 earnings for day 1 nearly half of the day 1 earnings of the 800
But that’s just one scenario, an interesting fact about the 900 is that it makes nearly as much flying “max distance” as it does flying 10k…
Since there are only a few actual 20k distance routes I’ve chosen instead to base the next bit off of a distance that has a plethora of options 19k
19k x 875 / 2 = 8,312,500 – 200,000 for airport fees and the total is 8,112,500 per plane per day a mere 237,500 difference. Scale that up 100 aircraft and you give up 23,750,000…maybe.
You see the problem with this guide (and all others) is that it’s difficult to calculate every variable. Now that’s something you already know, I mean how can one plan for everything? You can’t. Now it’s at this point I realize that I’ve just tossed out a bunch of numbers regarding the last 100 vacant slots of your fleet. If you could see my desk you would see that I have sooooooo much more math here, things like “how many days of buying 5 a 380s does one make before they’re able to buy 6…and then 7 before they reach 100?” Realizing that shit doesn’t matter I’m leaving it out, the problem with curiosity is that it’s so easy to lose focus of all else. (the answer is 9 days…you buy 5 a380-800s for 9 days until you can buy 6 per day) So what DOES matter? Well I haven’t the slightest…this guide isn’t really meant to tell you what matters that’s something you should know coming in. All the facts figures and formulas in the world aren’t able to tell you what matters…which by definition means none of it does.
Anyway back to why I said “maybe” before…I say that because that’s a figure based on what you MAY lose if you create 100 a380-900 routes that launch a max time of once per day rather than 2 as stated previously. Why “might” you lose it? Well…if you don’t launch your a380-900s twice a day every day…you stand to lose 4,175,000 per plane per day that you don’t launch…and 4,175,000 x 100 planes is 417,500,000 per day…now that you will definitely lose. It’s a gamble that’s for certain. But that’s not something you’re not already used to (hah double negative) So you’re probably asking by now if you haven’t already “well what the fuck am I supposed to buy?” Well that’s a complicated question isn’t it sport? Hell you’re reading a guide that’s an addition to a guide that was written for a game that has “no wrong answer”…now how’s that for perspective? But let’s figure this out…it’s annoying me far more than it’s annoying you (well maybe I’ve got a fairly quick temper…but you could be a complete lunatic.)
So we know the a380-800 is a winner for the first 100 routes if launched twice a day…based on the fact that you’re able to buy them faster (yes I know you make 231,000,000 less by doing so…but consider the following.)
We already know that 100 a380-800s will cost you over 21billion to purchase…and based on the table I created (no I’m not uploading it…there isn’t any point…and if you’re curious about this shit then you already know how to make your own) it will take about 33 days to complete your 100 aircraft purchase (airbus would probably throw one in for free if this were a real purchase)
But what about the -900?
Well…
397,011,000 x 100 = 39,701,100,000 for 100 a380-900
About 48 days based on the progression of profit table (oh hell it’s got a NAME now)
So you make more…but at a much slower pace at a much higher price. It will cost you 18 extra billion and about 2 weeks to reach max routes by going straight for the -900…however, if you go for the -800 and THEN move on to the -900 you will waste 21billion (because you’re not keeping the -800…the purchase amount is wasted) But you’ll get there faster…which is the point right? (that’s a question you can answer) By now you may have come to the conclusion that this is just more of the same…and you’re right…it is. All of the purchases prior to buying the -900 are “wasted” as they’re just an intermediary…a means to an end. So if you’re ready to “slow down” then just start buying -900s. I didn’t say start swapping out -900s I said buy them. If you start swapping out before you have 100 your daily earnings will drop (assuming you are keeping them in the air as you have been throughout your play) and if your earnings drop well your buying power does as well. To take it one step further…your rate of growth will slow…and possibly stall. But you do what you want.
There are the facts…as I’m sure there are more, this should be enough fact to create your decision…however if you want my suggestion, here it is.
If you still can’t decide which route to take regarding the “last 100” then do a combination either 1 and 1 (you have enough) or at first buy 2 a380s-800s and then when possible start buying a 900 as well…you’ll find yourself with 60-70 800s and the rest in 900s. Your “investment” amount goes up while your “wasted” amount goes down…as well as the work it takes to replace your fleet with all 900s
Oh and the fun “how much does a fleet of 900s make” question
Going once a day at 19k 4,867,500,000
Twice a day at 10k 5,250,000,000
The rest of the new aircraft added…in a nice word “superfluous”
None of them will do a BETTER job than the aircraft suggested in my guide…I would like to emphasize the word better because there are many out there who have said “but this aircraft is just as good as that one” and to that I say “well then it’s just a matter of fucking preference isn’t it?” If it doesn’t do a BETTER job than what’s already suggested then it’s “change for the sake of change” not for the sake of effectiveness/efficiency…but hey if you want to go out and research your claims and write your own damn guide go right ahead.
Cargo
So you bought cargo…great, everything you think you know about this game…throw it out (WAIT…not everything…please remember how to navigate the menus…but everything else forget)
If you don’t have a lot of time throughout the day cargo will not add anything of note to your bottom line. Well except the costs of the additional aircraft you purchase to haul cargo. By “a lot of time” I mean can you login and launch every 10-15 minutes? Every 30? What about every hour? No? well congratulations you just wasted a huge chunk of pax points.
Cargo earnings is not based off of distance like passenger aircraft…it’s based off of volume…how MUCH cargo you move…not how far you move it. The more the merrier, you want to take 5000 tons of beer from Chicago to chicago’s loop? AWESOME run that route 20 times a day x 3 one way and x 3 another.
Cargo is not a “get rich quick scheme” it’s not even a “get rich scheme”…oh who am I kidding it’s not even a fucking scheme…it’s “extra clicks” that’s what it is.
If you’re reading this without already having (or close to having) 600+ routes all with a380s (800/900 whatever) then I sincerely hope you’re reading this for shits and giggles and NOT so you can go right over to your game and follow along…because it’s a complete waste of your time (not mine)
The following guide (list of do’s and don’ts) is meant for those that have reached the plateau of the passenger side and have decided to redeem their pax points for cargo. Let me say this another way so I alienate as few people as possible “IF YOU ARE NOT MAKING AT LEAST 600million per DAY!...DO NOT CONCERN YOURSELF WITH THIS GUIDE AT THIS TIME...or do I don’t care.)
Step 1
Buy as many an-225s as possible (5 is the limit currently as of this writing) put them on routes as short as possible (10KM is as short of a route as you can get) IGNORE DEMAND just buy the most expensive contract. Yes I’m serious fuck demand…it means very little. *sigh* fine you want an explanation…here
Demand means everything regarding profit when it comes to passenger aircraft…here it means nothing. This is what matters in cargo
How MUCH cargo are you moving?
How many times can you move it?
That’s it!
An An225 on a max distance route will net the same amount as it will on a minimum distance route…the difference is…I can launch a min distance route every 10-20 minutes
Example
1 AN 225 has a capacity of 550,000 lbs if I sign a contract for 3.30 per lb and lift 500,000 lbs that’s 1,650,000 -100k for airport fees and 1,550,000 per trip
10 hours x 60 minutes = 600 minutes / average trip length of 20 minutes = 30 trips
30 trips x 1,550,000 = 46,500,000 for one aircraft
Having 5 an 225s on similar contracts and routes is 232,500,000 but that’s a LOT of clicking…and a lot of dedication…if you’ve got it great...but that’s just a for instance feel free to divide this number by 2 3 or more to get an idea about what you’re going to make from the AN 225 x 5
The a380-800F
The only other cargo aircraft you should own (according to my suggestions and recommendations)
1 a380-800F has a capacity of 330,000lbs
300,000lbs x 3.10 per lb = 930,000 per trip
930,000 x 195 a380-800Fs = 181,350,000 for 1 trip
You can see how this can add up quick…make 10 trips instance 2billion…if it were possible to make 30 trips like above you’re talking about 35billion…but that’s not going to happen...but it theoretically could.
Conversions…
Thinking you can “beat the game” and convert aircraft to have an edge…you’re right and it would be a rather dull edge.
A converted aircraft will not make you more money than a cargo aircraft. No…shutup…it will not.
