An aircraft costs the airline money every day, even when it goes nowhere, and it always sits at one specific airport.
Getting an aircraft
- New from the factory. Expensive, but the aircraft is yours with no monthly payment. Western types are priced in dollars and follow the Bank of Russia rate.
- From the used market. Cheaper, but its hours and wear come with it.
- Leasing: about 0.75 % of the aircraft value per month plus a three-month deposit, with the rate fixed on the signing day. Types from 40 million ₽ list price can be leased, new or used; the airline pays for the ferry to you.
A leased aircraft can be bought out at any time with “Buy out”, even mid-flight; “Buy out selected” takes several at once. The price is the residual value minus the deposit you have already paid.
A type that went out of production before 2010 cannot be ordered new or leased from the factory: it is bought and leased on the used market. Types whose production ended later (737-800, A320, A330, CRJ, E-Jet and others) are sold new as usual.
The used aircraft market
There is one market for the whole game: an aircraft you buy disappears from everyone’s listings. A listing stays up for about four hours, and new ones replace those that leave. Price is set mainly by age, and everything the aircraft brings with it is on the card before the deal.
Engines and cabin arrive in worse shape than the airframe, the more so the older the aircraft: a thirty-year-old machine at 60 % comes with a cabin at about 30 %. Hours, cycles and the next maintenance check come along too, and the check may be due right away.
- Leasing company: market price, the most transparent maintenance history.
- Intermediary: about 15 % below market, incomplete aircraft history.
- Storage facility: the same discount, but the aircraft sat for a long time and needs recommissioning before it flies.
- Bank: a distressed sale, up to 30 % below market. The aircraft was repossessed after an operator default.
A used aircraft can be leased: a leasing company buys it from the seller, and you pay the deposit, the first payment and the ferry. The payment is based on the price of that aircraft, so an old machine costs several times less than a fresh one. The threshold is the same, a type from 40 million ₽ list price.
Variant and cabin
Some types come in several factory variants with different range, capacity and price. The variant is picked first in the purchase card, before the cabin, and changes the price, the lease payment and delivery; a used aircraft comes in the variant stated in the listing. A passenger aircraft will not become a freighter, so for cargo orders pick the cargo variant from the start.
The cabin of a new or leased aircraft is chosen at purchase at no extra cost: a ready layout or your own by class. A dense cabin wins on short legs and where there are more passengers than seats; a premium one pays off on long legs. A used aircraft arrives with the previous operator’s cabin, and a refit costs money and keeps the aircraft on the ground.
Registration
In “Custom registration” mode you type the registration or get one automatically from the delivery hub’s country; the owner can fix the registry country in the airline settings. Such a registration is unique within the airline or personal hangar. Changing the hub does not rename aircraft you already have.
In “Real aircraft” mode you pick a free real airframe of your model and variant. A real registration is unique across the whole game and is locked in on saving or on the deal: if someone got there first, pick another, and no money is charged. The year built, hours and cabin of a used real aircraft come from the source and then grow only in the game.
In the real aircraft catalogue an airline is found by its ICAO code (AFL, UAE), Russian or English name: with no model or number you get its fleet, current first. Operators of Russian and Soviet aircraft come from Russianplanes, foreign ones from the OpenSky aircraft database as of April 2024. A number is found by its tail too: “89001” finds RA-89001.
When buying or leasing a used real aircraft you can choose “Re-register”: the registration follows the airline’s registry, while the passport and history stay. The real registration stays with the prototype, so there will be no second such aircraft in the game.
Types missing from the real aircraft registry are sold on the used market as game aircraft: the game writes their history, and the airline's registry issues the registration on purchase or lease.
Selling an aircraft
Market price is set mainly by age; condition moves it only a little. An aircraft sells for no more than its purchase price plus what was invested in it (checks, repairs, cabin), and the broker takes an 8 % commission. Repairs do not pay off in price: an invested ruble comes back as a ruble, and the commission comes on top.
Deals between airlines
You can sell your own aircraft to another player airline or lease it to them with “Sell or lease” on the aircraft card. Only an aircraft you own can be put up: a leased one or a unique airframe cannot. Airlines that share management cannot deal with each other.
The lessee pays in advance for every 30 days, and only from a positive balance; insurance, parking and maintenance are on them, and such an aircraft cannot be bought out. The seller gets no more than a broker would pay. An aircraft received in a deal or returned from a lease cannot be put up again for a week.
Unique airframes
Some aircraft were built as a single example, and the game has one of each too. Such an airframe comes only from the used market, an airline can hold no more than one of each type, and it sells for exactly what you paid, with no commission, then leaves the game for good. Upkeep is a daily fee: one such aircraft is free, a second already costs noticeable money.
Where the aircraft is
You can only book a flight on an aircraft that is at the departure airport. If it is in another city, it needs a ferry first, paid by the airline and taking time. In the booking modal you can also order the aircraft back after the flight: the ferry leaves by itself once you file the report.
A bought or leased aircraft flies to the hub you pick in the deal card; the choice sets the delivery price and time.
- Automatic ferry: the aircraft flies itself, the airline pays for the ferry, and a few hours later it is at the hub.
- “I will fly it myself”: delivery is free. A line with no passengers for that aircraft appears in the schedule for a week; book it and fly it.
- Express delivery: the aircraft is at the hub immediately, but it costs 2.5 times the ferry.
The “Fleet” tab shows where each aircraft is. A large fleet can be sorted into your own groups (“Manage groups”); they do not affect the economy. Your own aircraft photo goes on the “Aircraft record” card: JPEG or WebP up to 512 KB and up to 2048 pixels per side, and everyone can see it.
The “Company map” tab shows the whole fleet on a map; how to read the “Live map” is covered in “How a flight works”.
Aircraft modes
“Live pilots only” in the “Who flies this aircraft” block takes the aircraft out of the AI fleet, so it is always free for live pilots. AI crews go to the pool and keep drawing salary until you move or dismiss them.
In the same place management can reserve the aircraft for one person. Everyone else, the owner and the executive included, is refused on bookings, ferries, exchange orders and assignments; bookings already made run to the end. If that person leaves the airline, the aircraft frees itself.
The contract exchange
One-off work comes from “Ready orders” near your aircraft and “Ask about a route”. You get a single answer with a payment and a deadline, tied to the hour: the same aircraft and pair return the same thing until the hour ends. An order you do not take simply goes away, with no penalty.
An airline holds 3 orders at a time plus 1 for every 5 aircraft for which the exchange is their natural work (business, light aviation, helicopters, freighters), up to 15. AI fleet orders count towards this limit.
A cargo order goes only to an aircraft that can lift the stated mass. If the order includes work on site, such as hovering over a pad, the condition is given in numbers on the card and confirmed only by the tracker: a manual report cannot close such an order.
When signing an order, name who flies it: you, a crew hired for that aircraft, or another airline pilot. The performer and the aircraft can be changed before departure in the “Orders in progress” block. Declining within the first 15 minutes is free, after that it costs half the penalty, and an order with no performer expires with the full one.
An “Imported raw coffee” order with the “Authorities’ interest” gauge pays several times more than usual, but the outcome is known only after landing, up to a fine and the aircraft impounded for one or three days. A landing harder than −600 fpm bursts a crate, and the outcome is no better than a detention.
The “Programmes” tab of the exchange: a contract for a series of departures weeks ahead at a rate below a one-off order. The AI fleet flies them from the next day. A missed departure costs a quarter of the rate, and when the customer’s patience runs out the contract is terminated with a termination penalty; terminating it yourself costs the same.
Aircraft money
- Flight revenue: tickets and cargo minus fuel, airport fees and handling. A share of the profit goes to the pilot as a bonus, the rest to the airline.
- A soft touchdown adds up to 10 % to the flight’s net profit. A hard landing takes nothing away, but it leaves defects.
- A seat on a small aircraft costs more: a nine-seater gets three times the mainline rate, a thirty-seater twice, and from forty seats there is no markup.
- Salaries, leases, checks, repairs, hubs and loans are charged automatically. “Forecast” in “Finances” shows the 30-day total and the payment calendar.
Wear, checks and defects are covered in “Maintenance and defects”, loans and rehabilitation in “The bank and loans”.
Jet fuel price
Jet fuel is bought at the departure airport at that country’s price: in Russia by the exchange index, elsewhere by the world market price converted at the Bank of Russia rate. The whole leg’s burn is paid at the departure price, so you cannot tank up where it is cheaper. The price per kilogram is in the flight report, on the “Fuel” line.
The Tu-154, Tu-134, Il-62, Il-76MD, Il-86, Yak-40 and Yak-40K get a 45 % jet fuel subsidy wherever they refuel.
When fuel at the departure airport costs more than 70 ₽ per kg, a fuel surcharge is added to tickets, cargo and charter hire, and it is larger on long legs. It is based on the market’s average burn, so a fuel-efficient aircraft comes out ahead. Contracts paid at cost do not get it.
History and adviser
“Flight history” on the aircraft card collects its flights, AI fleet legs, ferries and maintenance stops. Management also sees the result of each flight there and the all-time total.
The adviser on the aircraft card explains why it is idle (no crew, waiting for maintenance, wrong airport, no line) and suggests legs from your network with a profit estimate. “Waiting for its hour” means the pair’s demand comes later, and the dispatcher will move the aircraft by itself. “Fleet for the whole network” on the “Fleet” tab counts how many aircraft and people the schedule is short of.
The personal hangar
The personal hangar is your own fleet, separate from the airline. The aircraft is bought with your money, and charter income on it is yours too. A charter shares the route’s passengers with everyone who flies there.
Aircraft history
Ten common aircraft families have historical essays in the encyclopedia: how they were designed, which decisions changed, and what went wrong during testing and service. Leg economics appears first, followed by a collapsed historical note: select its heading to open the essay. The contents link to chapters; numbers after paragraphs lead to sources. Archival photographs include credits and licences. Specifications describe the selected variant; the contemporary gallery has its own expandable section.