Buy aircraft with airline money

Your airline earns money with every accepted flight. With Buy aircraft with airline money on, staff spend that money on new aircraft, and pilots see how close the next one is.

Switch it on

1. Turn on Finances on the Flights & scoring tab of Staff → Airline settings → Settings.
2. Turn on Buy aircraft with airline money under Staff → Airline settings → Optional features.
3. Open Staff → Money → Buy aircraft.

Set what each type costs

Enter what each type you want to offer costs, in USD. A type with no cost set can't be bought. The grey number is about what that type costs an airline in real life, for example $35,000,000 for an A320 or $120,000,000 for a 777-300ER. Use real-life costs for empty ones fills them all in; costs you typed stay. You can set any cost you like instead.

Tick one type as the Next aircraft and press Save costs. Pilots then see a bar on Airline → Finances, for example "$1,200,000 of $4,000,000 saved". Pilots also see it on their dashboard, with about how many flights are left. When staff buy an aircraft, the airline's pilots get a notification.

Starting money and bank loans

Like a real airline, you can start with some money of your own and borrow the rest.

• Starting money: press Take the starting money once to add $10,000,000. That is about the down payment on a new narrow-body. After Start again with the same pilots you can take it again.
• Bank loan: the bank lends at 6% a year, paid back over 5, 10 or 12 years. It lends up to 80% of what your fleet is worth (the costs you set, or the real-life cost), and at least $50,000,000, less what you still owe. The money goes into the account straight away.
• The airline pays the same amount on the 1st of each month, starting the month after the loan. Each payment is part interest and part loan, as at a real bank. Example: $40,000,000 over 12 years costs about $390,000 a month.
• Borrowed money, paying it back and aircraft bought aren't profit, also not for profit sharing. Interest is a cost. A monthly payment the system missed is booked later, dated to that month's 1st, never twice.
• Pay off pays what is left at once, if the airline has the money. Loans and payments show as Bank loans on Airline → Finances.
• The account can go below zero when flights earn less than the payments, just like a real airline. Fly more, or pay a loan off.

Buy

Pick the type, type the registration and press Buy. The airline must have the whole amount: a purchase never takes the account below zero. It shows as Aircraft bought on Airline → Finances. You can buy up to 10 aircraft a day.

• With Delivery flights on, also enter the factory airport and where it goes. The aircraft waits at the factory until a pilot flies it home. If you cancel the delivery before anyone flies it, the money comes back.
• Without delivery flights, the aircraft joins the fleet at the airport you chose straight away.

Only staff who can manage the finances can buy. Adding aircraft for free on Staff → Operations → Fleet still works as before.