Are Aircraft the way to go?

[Robbywalls]

Hey,

I just got locomotion this week, and after playing transport tycoon and deluxe years ago when they came out, was wondering how using aircraft is viable in this game as the main company vehicle?

In ttdlx I always would build a lot of short haul routes, with each aircraft visiting not more than 2-3 airports. I found it a fantastic way to make a lot of money quickly. Is it a good idea for locomotion also?

And, another question. I noticed that airports are very expensive in locomotion. I used to build airports all over the map early in the game, so i could have the land for my company. It's sometimes difficult to get prime city centre locations once the citys expand. Is there any way of getting the cities in locomotion to allowing building after they have expanded quite a bit?

thanks!

[chevyrider]

Aircrafts are not a good idea in the beginning.
Start with trains and haul coal, iron or chemicals.
They keep their prises better than passengers during long transports.

[JonnyRocks]

What I usually do to reserve an arroport space right at the beinning of t6he game is to build a railway over a space 10x10 (large airport size). this then stops the city from expanding into it. beware, though, it doesn't stop the AI from building raiklway routes over the top of it, which can get very annoying of its in a prime position and you have to give it up

[Vitalic]

Like someone said, I leave airport and plane building until after I managed to establish a good amount of money making routes. (Mainly passenger trams and trains, and trains that do chemicals, coal, and iron ore). The main reason is expense, and I don't start building any airports until i'm usually in the 10's of millions of dollars (i.e. > $10^7 ) as it gives me space to build an airport and a couple of planes, leaving some millions in my pocket to do other projects with trains and stuff.

As for routes, I tend to use jet planes for passengers, so I use large planes like the A380 and 747 for long haul routes (i.e. across the map) and 777 and A320's for medium and short haul routes. Concorde's can be used for either medium or long haul flights as they are very fast.

[Paasky]

They are now
Click on the Aircraft Pack link in my sig.

[sleeming88]

Using aircraft has always bugged me in the sense that by the time you have enough money to build airports/aircraft and there is enough potential passenger traffic for them to be profitable, many of the cities have become too large to accommodate airports. Often you'll find that once the large airport becomes available the only good spaces of empty land left are in dead spots with no passenger traffic . Unless you are willing to spend time and money clearing away vast areas of cities (remember you have to delete any roads on the land before you can use it. Make sure there are no road vehicles using them or the city won't let you) you are better off sticking with trains and trams e.t.c

If you do manage to get an airport in a good spot it's also important to remember not to overdo it on the number of aircraft you have using it. A large airport with hundreds of passengers waiting is no good to anyone if all your planes are stuck circling overhead, waiting to land.

[Badger]

I know you're new but please don't bump old topics, especially those that are over 5 years old.
Please read the forum rules and enjoy your time here.