lots, construction, what each facility does, supplies, FBO routes and consignments
Lots
A company has one lot per airport and on it at most one facility of each kind — levels make the difference. There are a few lots to begin with (eight at a large hub, one at a grass strip); once at least three quarters are taken, the airport opens another with a rent a quarter higher, so there is room at a hub, just dearer. You lease a lot for a monthly rent that runs even while nothing stands on it and grows with every facility (half the base per facility). The building is yours and every facility makes the airport your base. The lot plan in the Facilities tab shows seven fields: built ones with level and running cost, empty ones with price, build time, monthly cost and the rent increase — and for the fuel depot, terminal, lounge and hangar an estimated monthly benefit and payback in months from the airport's last 30 days of traffic (share of all flights' fees, savings on your own fuel, parking saved). Office, workshop and training centre have no figure — their value is in what they enable.
Construction
You can only build where you have an aircraft or a pilot — someone has to sign the contract on site. Construction takes real days, longer at a large airport, and delivering building materials to the site shortens it, by at most 60 %. A finished facility can be upgraded to a higher level (you pay the price difference), mothballed (you pay a quarter of the running cost and it does nothing) and closed — closing costs a fee for restoring the lot and lowers your reputation in the region.
Rent and auction
The first month of rent is paid right when you lease the lot; later months and the running costs of facilities are deducted at the month-end close. Whoever does not pay the rent gets a warning; after the grace period an empty lot is forfeited and goes to auction, where anyone can bid, including the former tenant. A lot with a facility on it is never seized.
What each facility does
Office — The cheapest facility. It makes the airport your base — a store for goods, a destination for consignments and a start for FBO routes — and does nothing else.
Hangar — Your aircraft park here for free; the hangar level decides how many fit. Aircraft above capacity pay parking as anywhere else.
Maintenance shop — Repairs without a surcharge, and cheaper with parts from stock; the level decides which checks can be done here — a C check needs level 3, a D check level 4. It consumes spare parts.
Fuel depot — It holds jet fuel or avgas. Your aircraft refuel from it first — without cash, the stock is written off at its purchase cost. You sell fuel to others at the price you set on the facility; they buy it only when it is cheaper than the airport’s fuel. It does not deplete on its own and is refilled by deliveries. NPC carriers may take at most a fifth of the stock per day.
Cargo terminal — The airport’s board offers more cargo jobs for everyone, and you receive part of the cargo handling fee from every flight departing from here. The carrier pays nothing extra for it.
Passenger handling — The same for passengers: more passenger jobs on the board and part of the passenger handling fee from every departure.
Training centre — Type training for pilots at this airport is cheaper and shorter; the higher the level, the more so.
Supplies
Every operating facility consumes operating supplies daily, and a maintenance shop spare parts as well; the Supplies tab shows how many days they will last. When they run out, operations do not stop — an NPC delivers what is missing at a much higher price. When supplies run low, a supply job is posted on the board: anyone can deliver it for the freight and you pay for the goods delivered — less than an emergency delivery. Goods from your own factory come cheaper still.
FBO routes
A route runs from or to your base airport and creates its own jobs in addition to the board, at both ends: two per day per direction without facilities, more with a terminal and a lounge at the departure end (at most eight). A new route starts at 30 % and its reliability rises with every delivered job and falls with expired ones. You set what it carries (passengers, cargo, both), the largest group and the heaviest shipment to fit your fleet, the class and how many jobs may hang at once. For the first 12 hours only your company sees a job, then it goes to the public board and you take a 5–30 % share of its pay (a higher share = less attractive for other pilots). Pay is at market rates; a route costs a monthly fee by the base airport (T0 $4,000, a small airport $1,000) and 3 % of the pay of every posted job, even if nobody takes it. Routes from one airport are capped together and share the cap pro rata.
Your own consignments by air
You can send goods from a base’s store by air to your own facility at another airport — say, parts from a factory to a distant workshop. The consignment is posted on the board as a cargo job. Without a reward only your company sees and carries it, with your own aircraft or an AI crew; with a reward any other company can take it — not yours, and not a company that shares a member with you. The carrier gets exactly your reward, with no reputation premium and no bonuses. You pay the reward up front and the freight paid is added to the cost of the goods; when the carrier delivers late and gets less, the difference comes back to you. A consignment nobody has booked yet can be withdrawn, and when nobody takes it within seven days, both the goods and the reward come back.
Production and commodities
what factories are for, how they produce and where to sell the goods
What a factory is for
A factory turns cheap raw materials into products the game really needs: jet fuel and avgas for fuel depots, building materials to shorten construction, aircraft parts for workshops and operating supplies for every facility. You do not have to make any of it — NPCs sell everything always and everywhere, just at a higher price. Your own production is a way to get supplies cheaper and sell something to others; the game goes on without it.
Industrial zones
Factories do not stand at airports but in industrial zones near cities, linked to airports by road within 150 km. A zone has a few lots and a specialisation — raw materials that are cheaper to buy there: crude oil at ports in oil countries, timber in forested regions, steel in industrial cities, electronics in the big cities of developed countries. You will find the zones near an airport on the Production screen.
Construction and levels
You lease a lot in a zone and build a factory on it when you have an aircraft or a pilot at one of the airports linked to the zone. Construction takes days and building materials shorten it. A factory has levels 1 to 3: a higher one produces more but costs more to build and to run. A mothballed factory produces nothing and pays a quarter of the running cost; it can be demolished for a fee.
How production works
You set up to three products on a factory; each needs one-off tooling that is not refunded when you stop. Production capacity belongs to the factory — the three products share it. Each product needs its own raw materials (the chain diagram shows the recipes) and is made only from what lies in the factory’s store. When one input is missing, the product stops and running costs are still paid; the utilisation shown at the product says at what percentage it can be produced.
Raw materials and prices
You buy raw materials from NPCs right at the factory at the region’s sell price — cheaper in a zone with that specialisation — or from another player. Prices differ from region to region and move: a large purchase raises the price in the region, a large sale knocks it down, and it returns within a few days. NPCs buy at the floor and sell at the ceiling; players trade in between.
Moving goods
A truck carries goods between a zone and an airport: you order it at the factory, it is paid by tonnes and kilometres, and within a few hours it delivers the goods to your oldest facility at that airport. In the other direction it carries raw materials from the airport to the factory. Beyond the linked airport you send goods as your own consignment by air from a base’s Supplies.
Selling and the player market
You sell products to NPCs at the buy price — a thin margin and a last resort — or offer them to other players at a price between the NPC buy and sell prices. An offer is posted from a factory’s or facility’s store, costs a small fee and a commission is taken on sale. Buying happens on the spot: the buyer must have a facility at that airport or a factory in that zone, and may buy just part of it. The price list in Production shows the offers near an airport; an unsold offer can be withdrawn, and after its period the goods return to the store by themselves.
Contracts, slots and alliances
long-term commitments, priority at large airports and cooperation between companies
Tender
A contract is a promise to carry the same cargo on the same route in regular cycles — daily, weekly, every two weeks or monthly. It is won in a sealed tender: you submit one bid per cycle and until the close nobody sees it, not even you. The lowest bid wins that is neither below the tender’s floor nor above its ceiling, from a company with the reputation the tender asks for — reputation is checked only when the envelopes are opened. An established carrier always bids against you too.
Cycles, penalties and SLA
Each cycle posts an ordinary job due at the end of the cycle; you find it in Contracts and carry it like any other. A cycle not flown costs a penalty and a little reputation. At the end the share of all cycles delivered on time is counted: above the required threshold the contract is fulfilled and reputation rises, below it the contract is breached and reputation drops sharply.
Slots
The largest airports auction slots — priority in a half-hour or one-hour window, separately for arrival and departure. Auctions run for peak windows, a slot is held only for a time and can be resold. You can always fly without a slot: only when someone else holds the window do you pay a handling surcharge. In the area of a major disaster slots are suspended and humanitarian flights have priority.
Alliance
An alliance joins several companies. Founding one costs a fee, members join by invitation and the number of members is capped. Members may use an ally’s slot and its workshop for checks and repairs — money, aircraft and stores are not shared. The benefits apply only from two members and only after a waiting period from joining, and whoever leaves an alliance cannot join another for a while.
Production chain. What is made from what: crude oil into jet fuel, aluminium and electronics into aircraft parts. Click a node for the price, who makes it and who wants it.
Based on the in-game help and manual (Help tab) — the numbers are the default rule values; the in-game manual shows the ones the server is using right now. Post questions and experience in this thread.
Bases and facilities
lots, construction, what each facility does, supplies, FBO routes and consignments
Lots
A company has one lot per airport and on it at most one facility of each kind — levels make the difference. There are a few lots to begin with (eight at a large hub, one at a grass strip); once at least three quarters are taken, the airport opens another with a rent a quarter higher, so there is room at a hub, just dearer. You lease a lot for a monthly rent that runs even while nothing stands on it and grows with every facility (half the base per facility). The building is yours and every facility makes the airport your base. The lot plan in the Facilities tab shows seven fields: built ones with level and running cost, empty ones with price, build time, monthly cost and the rent increase — and for the fuel depot, terminal, lounge and hangar an estimated monthly benefit and payback in months from the airport's last 30 days of traffic (share of all flights' fees, savings on your own fuel, parking saved). Office, workshop and training centre have no figure — their value is in what they enable.
Construction
You can only build where you have an aircraft or a pilot — someone has to sign the contract on site. Construction takes real days, longer at a large airport, and delivering building materials to the site shortens it, by at most 60 %. A finished facility can be upgraded to a higher level (you pay the price difference), mothballed (you pay a quarter of the running cost and it does nothing) and closed — closing costs a fee for restoring the lot and lowers your reputation in the region.
Rent and auction
The first month of rent is paid right when you lease the lot; later months and the running costs of facilities are deducted at the month-end close. Whoever does not pay the rent gets a warning; after the grace period an empty lot is forfeited and goes to auction, where anyone can bid, including the former tenant. A lot with a facility on it is never seized.
What each facility does
Supplies
Every operating facility consumes operating supplies daily, and a maintenance shop spare parts as well; the Supplies tab shows how many days they will last. When they run out, operations do not stop — an NPC delivers what is missing at a much higher price. When supplies run low, a supply job is posted on the board: anyone can deliver it for the freight and you pay for the goods delivered — less than an emergency delivery. Goods from your own factory come cheaper still.
FBO routes
A route runs from or to your base airport and creates its own jobs in addition to the board, at both ends: two per day per direction without facilities, more with a terminal and a lounge at the departure end (at most eight). A new route starts at 30 % and its reliability rises with every delivered job and falls with expired ones. You set what it carries (passengers, cargo, both), the largest group and the heaviest shipment to fit your fleet, the class and how many jobs may hang at once. For the first 12 hours only your company sees a job, then it goes to the public board and you take a 5–30 % share of its pay (a higher share = less attractive for other pilots). Pay is at market rates; a route costs a monthly fee by the base airport (T0 $4,000, a small airport $1,000) and 3 % of the pay of every posted job, even if nobody takes it. Routes from one airport are capped together and share the cap pro rata.
Your own consignments by air
You can send goods from a base’s store by air to your own facility at another airport — say, parts from a factory to a distant workshop. The consignment is posted on the board as a cargo job. Without a reward only your company sees and carries it, with your own aircraft or an AI crew; with a reward any other company can take it — not yours, and not a company that shares a member with you. The carrier gets exactly your reward, with no reputation premium and no bonuses. You pay the reward up front and the freight paid is added to the cost of the goods; when the carrier delivers late and gets less, the difference comes back to you. A consignment nobody has booked yet can be withdrawn, and when nobody takes it within seven days, both the goods and the reward come back.
Production and commodities
what factories are for, how they produce and where to sell the goods
What a factory is for
A factory turns cheap raw materials into products the game really needs: jet fuel and avgas for fuel depots, building materials to shorten construction, aircraft parts for workshops and operating supplies for every facility. You do not have to make any of it — NPCs sell everything always and everywhere, just at a higher price. Your own production is a way to get supplies cheaper and sell something to others; the game goes on without it.
Industrial zones
Factories do not stand at airports but in industrial zones near cities, linked to airports by road within 150 km. A zone has a few lots and a specialisation — raw materials that are cheaper to buy there: crude oil at ports in oil countries, timber in forested regions, steel in industrial cities, electronics in the big cities of developed countries. You will find the zones near an airport on the Production screen.
Construction and levels
You lease a lot in a zone and build a factory on it when you have an aircraft or a pilot at one of the airports linked to the zone. Construction takes days and building materials shorten it. A factory has levels 1 to 3: a higher one produces more but costs more to build and to run. A mothballed factory produces nothing and pays a quarter of the running cost; it can be demolished for a fee.
How production works
You set up to three products on a factory; each needs one-off tooling that is not refunded when you stop. Production capacity belongs to the factory — the three products share it. Each product needs its own raw materials (the chain diagram shows the recipes) and is made only from what lies in the factory’s store. When one input is missing, the product stops and running costs are still paid; the utilisation shown at the product says at what percentage it can be produced.
Raw materials and prices
You buy raw materials from NPCs right at the factory at the region’s sell price — cheaper in a zone with that specialisation — or from another player. Prices differ from region to region and move: a large purchase raises the price in the region, a large sale knocks it down, and it returns within a few days. NPCs buy at the floor and sell at the ceiling; players trade in between.
Moving goods
A truck carries goods between a zone and an airport: you order it at the factory, it is paid by tonnes and kilometres, and within a few hours it delivers the goods to your oldest facility at that airport. In the other direction it carries raw materials from the airport to the factory. Beyond the linked airport you send goods as your own consignment by air from a base’s Supplies.
Selling and the player market
You sell products to NPCs at the buy price — a thin margin and a last resort — or offer them to other players at a price between the NPC buy and sell prices. An offer is posted from a factory’s or facility’s store, costs a small fee and a commission is taken on sale. Buying happens on the spot: the buyer must have a facility at that airport or a factory in that zone, and may buy just part of it. The price list in Production shows the offers near an airport; an unsold offer can be withdrawn, and after its period the goods return to the store by themselves.
Contracts, slots and alliances
long-term commitments, priority at large airports and cooperation between companies
Tender
A contract is a promise to carry the same cargo on the same route in regular cycles — daily, weekly, every two weeks or monthly. It is won in a sealed tender: you submit one bid per cycle and until the close nobody sees it, not even you. The lowest bid wins that is neither below the tender’s floor nor above its ceiling, from a company with the reputation the tender asks for — reputation is checked only when the envelopes are opened. An established carrier always bids against you too.
Cycles, penalties and SLA
Each cycle posts an ordinary job due at the end of the cycle; you find it in Contracts and carry it like any other. A cycle not flown costs a penalty and a little reputation. At the end the share of all cycles delivered on time is counted: above the required threshold the contract is fulfilled and reputation rises, below it the contract is breached and reputation drops sharply.
Slots
The largest airports auction slots — priority in a half-hour or one-hour window, separately for arrival and departure. Auctions run for peak windows, a slot is held only for a time and can be resold. You can always fly without a slot: only when someone else holds the window do you pay a handling surcharge. In the area of a major disaster slots are suspended and humanitarian flights have priority.
Alliance
An alliance joins several companies. Founding one costs a fee, members join by invitation and the number of members is capped. Members may use an ally’s slot and its workshop for checks and repairs — money, aircraft and stores are not shared. The benefits apply only from two members and only after a waiting period from joining, and whoever leaves an alliance cannot join another for a while.
Production chain. What is made from what: crude oil into jet fuel, aluminium and electronics into aircraft parts. Click a node for the price, who makes it and who wants it.
Based on the in-game help and manual (Help tab) — the numbers are the default rule values; the in-game manual shows the ones the server is using right now. Post questions and experience in this thread.