07-16-2019, 12:56 AM
right now I am operating 737-400s with an average cycles of 34,265. Right now my per-flight maintenance cost is ~$5,316. With the new formula it would be ~$13,748. That's an $8,432 increase, which would lower my profits for sure but I am running a $15-$40k profit on most flights so it wouldn't kill my airline.
That being said I guess I agree with you about thats not how maintenance costs work. What if we replaced the per-flight cost structure we have now with the A/B/C/D check system? and in addition to that perhaps a daily/weekly (or both?) inspection that would cost X amount?
And how would everyone prefer to structure the cost of maintenance, some combination of age and cycles? To me the older the aircraft (particularly the really old ones like 707, 727 etc) it is difficult to find parts for and that is one factor that drives up costs. Maybe its not as simple as an exponential equation that increases cost with cycles.
For me the goal is to have each plane give more or less the same ROI - right now there is really no point to purchase new aircraft (except maybe the cheap russian ones) since old aircraft are only marginally more expensive to operate and yet make the same amount of revenue. You get the same revenue for very little upfront cost. For me, to have balanced gameplay, players should be able to go either way - new aircraft, large upfront cost and low operating cost - or used aircraft, low upfront cost and larger operating cost - and one strategy shouldn't be the obvious "go-to".
That being said I guess I agree with you about thats not how maintenance costs work. What if we replaced the per-flight cost structure we have now with the A/B/C/D check system? and in addition to that perhaps a daily/weekly (or both?) inspection that would cost X amount?
And how would everyone prefer to structure the cost of maintenance, some combination of age and cycles? To me the older the aircraft (particularly the really old ones like 707, 727 etc) it is difficult to find parts for and that is one factor that drives up costs. Maybe its not as simple as an exponential equation that increases cost with cycles.
For me the goal is to have each plane give more or less the same ROI - right now there is really no point to purchase new aircraft (except maybe the cheap russian ones) since old aircraft are only marginally more expensive to operate and yet make the same amount of revenue. You get the same revenue for very little upfront cost. For me, to have balanced gameplay, players should be able to go either way - new aircraft, large upfront cost and low operating cost - or used aircraft, low upfront cost and larger operating cost - and one strategy shouldn't be the obvious "go-to".
I am the developer of Airline Enterprise