Getting started

What the game is

You run an airline in a world shared with computer-run rivals and, if you like, other players. Passengers choose between airlines on price, timing, comfort, reputation and how well they know you; every flight burns real fuel, pays real fees and needs real crew. Nothing is scripted: what you earn comes from the flights you plan.

The goal in most worlds is the highest company value: what the airline owns less what it owes, plus four times its yearly operating profit. Challenges and scenarios set goals of their own.

Founding an airline

You choose a name, a two-character code and a home airport (your hub). A big city is the easiest start: plenty of passengers and many routes that pay. A small airport is a challenge for later.

• A new airline brings the founding capital (usually $150M) and one leased, nine-year-old aircraft with an older all-economy cabin, ready at your hub, on four years at 80% of market rent with no deposit.
• A cargo airline brings a freighter instead.
• Scenarios (rescue the flag carrier, a low-cost upstart and others) bring their own fleets, debts and goals.

You also choose who runs it. With a founding team (recommended) every department has a head from day one, and they handle crew hiring, punctuality, fares, checks, unions, the budget and the head office while you learn. Run it myself starts with nobody: every department is yours until you hire.

The clock

Each world has its own clock. A new single-player world and the tutorial sandbox start paused: nothing is paid before anything flies. Press 1× or faster in the header when your first rotation is scheduled. The fastest speed is 5×, a game day in under five minutes.

When you leave a solo world it pauses after ten minutes (or runs in real time, if you chose that under the speed buttons), and the inbox tells you what happened while you were away.

Your first hour

The Getting started guide on the dashboard walks you through it, step by step, in your own airline's numbers:

• open your first route in the route planner: it estimates passengers, load and profit before you commit, and suggests strong first routes;
• schedule a rotation: out and back on your aircraft every day;
• hire crew (one click, or let the Crew Planning Manager do it);
• start the clock and watch the first flight land.

The tutorial sandbox in the lobby is a private practice world for exactly this: two computer rivals, light disruption, no crises. Throw it away and start again whenever you like.

Where to look

The menu is grouped: Overview, Inbox, Airline Today, Operations, Passengers, Fleet & engineering, People, Money, and Setup for one-off jobs (cabins, fare rules, buying aircraft). Pages with a step-by-step guide say so under their title.

Once a game day is enough to keep an airline healthy: the figures at the top of the dashboard, its Needs attention list, then the inbox. Most letters have a button that does what they ask.