Airport Tycoon
Unofficial Strategy Guide and FAQ
by Kasey Chang
released February 25, 2003
0 Introduction
This section is mainly about the FAQ itself and some legalese. You can read
the most often asked FAQs at the end of this section, or skip right to [1]
for the "stuff".
"Airport Tycoon" is also known as "Airport Inc." and "Air Mogul". So you
may see it listed under those names as well.
This FAQ is NOT about "Airline Tycoon", a very similar sounding game from
Monte Cristo.
Airport Tycoon 2 is already in stores, but this FAQ is about the original.
A lot of the terms used in the game are in British English and not
translated in the game. I'll try to translate them for you later in the
sections, but the original terms will be used. In most cases, you can guess
at what the terms are. "Long-stay Parking" is Brit-speak for "Long-Term
Parking", and so on.
If you like the FAQ, send me $1.00. :-) See 0.3
0.1 A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR
This is a FAQ, NOT a manual. You won't learn how to play the game with this
document, and I'm NOT about to add it to ease the life of software pirates,
no matter how old the game is.
Some of you may recognize my name as the editor for the XCOM and XCOM2:
TFTD FAQ's, among others.
If you don't care about all these verbiage (it's mainly for people who want
to redistribute the guide) you can jump right to the end of this section
and read some of the FAQs.
If you like the FAQ, send me $1.00. :-) See 0.3
0.2 TERMS OF DISTRIBUTION
This USG should be available at Gamefaqs (http://www.gamefaqs.com) and
other major PC game websites (such as gamesdomain.com, gamespot.com, etc.).
I only release it to Gamefaqs, so they would always have the latest. If you
get it from anywhere else, beware that it may NOT be the latest and
greatest version.
To webmasters who wish to archive this FAQ on their website, please read
below.
This document is copyrighted by Kuo-Sheng "Kasey" Chang (c) 2002-3, all
rights reserved excepted as noted above in the disclaimer section.
This document is available FREE of charge subjected to the following
conditions:
1) This notice and author's name must accompany all copies of this
document: "Airport Tycoon Unofficial Strategy Guide and FAQ" is copyrighted
(c) 2002-3 by Kasey K.S. Chang, all rights reserved except as noted in the
disclaimer."
2) This document must NOT be modified in any form or manner without prior
permission of the author with the following exception: if you wish to
convert this document to a different file format or archive format, with no
change to the content, then no permission is needed.
2a) In case you can't read, that means TXT only. No banners, no HTML
borders, no cutting up into multiple pages to get you more banner hits, and
esp. no adding your site name to the site list.
3) No charge other than "reasonable" compensation should charged for its
distribution. (Free is preferred) Sale of this information is expressly
prohibited. If you see any one selling this guide, drop me a line.
4) If you used material from this, PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE the source, else it
is plagiarism.
5) The author hereby grants all games-related web sites the right to
archive and link to this document to share among the game fandom, provided
that all above restrictions are followed.
Sidenote: The above conditions are known as a statutory contract. If you
meet them, then you are entitled to the rights I give you in 5), i.e.
archive and display this document on your website. If you don't follow
them, you did not meet the statutory contract conditions, thus you have no
right to display this document. If you still do so, then you are infringing
upon my copyright. This section was added for any websites who don't seem
to understand this.
0.3 VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTION
Gamers who read this guide are under NO obligation to send me ANY
compensation.
However, a VOLUNTARY contribution of one (1) US Dollar would be very
appreciated.
If you choose to do so, please make your US$1.00 check or $1.00 worth of
stamps to "Kuo-Sheng Chang", and send it to "2220 Turk Blvd. #6, San
Francisco, CA 94118 USA".
If you don't live in the US, please send me some local stamps. I collect
stamps too.
0.4 HOW AND WHEN TO CONTACT ME
PLEASE let me know if there's a confusing or missing remark, mistakes, and
thereof... If you find a question about this game that is not covered in
the USG, e-mail it to me at the address specified below. I'll try to
answer it and include it in the next update.
Please do NOT write me for technical support. That is the job of the
publisher.
Please do NOT ask me to send you a list of controls, the manual, etc. If
you borrowed the game without borrowing the manual, blame your own
stupidity. If you bought the game without a manual, blame your own
stupidity. If you copied the game without copying the manual, you're not
only scum, but STUPID scum.
Please do NOT ask me to answer questions that have already answered in this
FAQ/guide. It makes you REALLY idiotic.
I will NOT answer stupid questions like the ones above unless I'm in a
really good mood. If you send questions like that, do NOT expect a reply.
The address below is spelled out phonetically so spammers can't use
spambots on it:
Kilo-Sierra-Charlie-Hotel-Alpha-November-Golf-Seven-Seven AT Yankee-Alpha-
Hotel-Oscar-Oscar DOT Charlie-Oscar-Mike
To decipher this, simply read the first letter off each word except for the
numbers and the punctuation. This is "military phonetics" or "aeronautical
phonetics" in case you're wondering.
This document was produced on Microsoft Word 97, with some notetaking on a
Handspring Visor with the Targus foldable keyboard. Some editing was done
with Editpad (editpadclassic.com).
0.5 THE AUTHOR
I am just a game player who decided to write my own FAQs when the ones I
find don't cover what I want to see. Lots of people like what I did, so I
kept doing it.
Previously, I've written Unofficial Strategy Guides (USGs) for XCOM,
XCOM2:TFTD, Wing Commander, Wing Commander 2, Wing Commander 3, Wing
Commander 4, Privateer, Spycraft, 688(I) Hunter/Killer. Mechwarrior 3, MW3
Expansion Pack, Mechwarrior 4, Mechwarrior 4: Black Knight, Need for Speed:
Porsche Unleashed, The Sting!, Terranova, Fallout Tactics, Starfleet
Command Volume II, and a few more.
Most of them should be on http://www.gamefaqs.com, the biggest FAQ site
around.
To contact me, see 0.4 above.
0.6 DISCLAIMER/ COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
Airport Tycoon is was made by Krisalis, a company in UK, which is
unfortunately out of business.
Airport Tycoon is distributed in the US by Take 2
(http://www.take2games.com), with technical support handled by Talonsoft.
(http://www.talonsoft.com) A budget edition is distributed by Take 2's
budget division, Globalstar. (http://www.globalstarsoftware.com)
This guide is NOT endorsed or authorized by any companies mentioned above.
There is no warranty for this unofficial strategy guide. After all, it
depends on YOU the player. All I can do is offer some advice.
0.7 REVISION HISTORY
12-AUG-2002 Initial Release
25-FEB-2003 Second release, updated building notes, added scenario
notes, added sequel notes
0.8 THE MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: Can you send me Airport Tycoon (or portions thereof)?
A: No. If you can't spend $10 (or less) for a game, you have no business
playing a game.
Q: Can you send me the manual (or portions thereof)?
A: That's a portion of the game.
Q: Can you tell me how to play the game?
A: Read the manual.
Q: How many CD's are there?
A: Just 1.
Q: What are the keyboard shortcuts?
A: Look in the "options" screen
Q: The program tells me I need a tower but I don't see a tower in the build
list!
A: The additional items appear on Jan 1, 1970. Your clock starts at Dec 31,
1969, 1600 hours.
Q: Why can't I add things inside the terminal?
A: You need to be in "Hard" difficulty level.
Q: What is the maximum amount of contracts I can have?
A: Someone said 400, but I'm not sure whether that's TOTAL, or just
business (retail) contracts.
Q: How many terminals can I have?
A: Maximum number of terminals is FOUR (4).
Q: How many runways can I have?
A: Maximum number of runways is FOUR (4)
Q: Is there multiplayer?
A: No. Multiplayer is NOT possible with AT.
Q: What are the difficulty levels?
A: Easy, Medium, and Hard. Easy gives you plenty of credit and initial
budget, while Hard has minimal credit and smaller initial budget.
Q: How do I get airline master contracts?
A: Just wait. If you have the right facilities, they'll come.
Q: How do I know if I have the right facilities?
A: Build the admin building and find out. In "failed contracts", you'll see
each contract and why it failed. Basically, it means you are missing a few
facilities. However, keep in mind that if you're already short on money,
building the admin building, at $2 million, will kill you that much faster.
Q: How do I get business contracts?
A: If you mean inside the terminal, you need a "retail area". If you mean
outside, just wait. When your passenger terminal handled a couple million
passengers, hotels and petrol (gas) stations will beg you to let them
operate on your grounds.
Q: How do I cheat?
A: There are no cheat-codes, but they may be a "trainer" or two. See final
section
Q: Is there a sequel?
A: The sequel, Airport Tycoon 2, is already out in stores (As of Feb 2003).
1 Game Information
1.1 WHAT IS AIRPORT TYCOON?
Airport Tycoon is a simulation of building and running an airport near a
major city. From an empty plot of land, you must build terminals, arrange
for parking, runways, support structures, and so on. You then make money
from the landing fees and so on.
As airport starts running, you need to negotiate contracts with the various
businesses, including airlines, maintenance companies, caterers, cargo
handlers, concessionaires, parking, taxi, railroad, and much more. You may
even get hotel contracts, gas station contracts and so on.
Airport Tycoon is a serious simulation under the 3D veneer. However, the
interaction between 3D and 2D sections is difficult to explain. That is
where this guide comes in.
Airport Tycoon is NOT "Airline Tycoon", a similar game also published by
Globalstar. Airline Tycoon is about running an airline that determines what
cities to serve, what planes to use, and so on. Airport Tycoon runs a
single airport.
1.2 WHO CREATED AND PUBLISHED AIRPORT TYCOON?
Krisalis, a UK company, created Airport Tycoon. They were originally at
Krisalis.co.uk, but tey appear to be out of business, and the website is
gone.
The original name for this game was "Air Mogul". In fact, when you install
Airport Tycoon, it calls ITSELF "Air Mogul". In Europe, it was also known
as "Airport Inc.".
Airport Tycoon is published in the US by Take 2 Interactive.
(http://www.take2games.com)
Talonsoft handles technical support for Airport Tycoon in the US.
(http://www.talonsoft.com)
Globalstar, the "budget" division of "Take 2", also publishes Airport
Tycoon in jewelcase format. (http://www.globalstarsoftware.com)
1.3 WHAT DO I NEED TO RUN AIRPORT TYCOON?
From the README file...
Windows(r) 95, Windows 98
Pentium 200+
16 MB free system RAM
300 MB (uncompressed) of free hard disk space
4MB Direct X compatible graphics card
4x CD-ROM drive
Direct X compatible sound card
Mouse, keyboard
DirectX 6 or higher (DirectX 7 supplied on game CD)
The game will use GLIDE (i.e. old Voodoo series cards) if it detects one.
Else it will use D3D. However, 3D card is not required.
Please note that Windows NT is NOT supported. Any info you have on NT
compatibility would be appreciated.
There is NO report of XP compatibility, so if you got it working in XP,
good for you. Let me know if you had to do anything special. See 0.4
1.4 ANY ALTERNATE VERSIONS? PATCHES?
There was supposed to be two patches for the European version. No patches
for the American version.
1.5 SEQUELS, DEMOS, AND MISC GAME INFO
Krisalis, maker of the game, is out of business, and their website in UK is
gone.
No demo is available. The game is so cheap now you can give it a try.
Sunstorm Interactive has created Airport Tycoon 2 for Take 2. However,
Sunstorm is apparently now out of business. Check Take 2's website for more
information about the sequel.
Visit your local software retailer. Airport Tycoon is probably in the
bargain bin "jewelcase only" section.
1.6 WHAT IS AIRLINE TYCOON?
That game from Monte Cristo is about simulating a single AIRLINE (United,
American, Delta, Southwest, etc.), not an airport. It has its own
challenges, but not related to Airport Tycoon.
2 What do you DO in the game?
You basically do five things: build airport structures, build support
structures, manage terminal, arrange transportation, and negotiate
contracts. The trick is to do all these without going bankrupt, and to put
everything close to things where they need to go so things can be done
efficiently.
2.1 BUILD AIRPORT STRUCTURES
Airport structures are the bare necessities for an airport to operate,
which basically means runway, passenger or cargo terminal, plane stands,
taxiway, tower, and fire station.
You also need some aprons for the support vehicles to run on, then a road
leading to the terminal.
2.2 BUILD SUPPORT STRUCTURES
Airport needs support. If you have passenger traffic, you need turnaround
(catering and such). You also need "airport maintain". If you want larger
planes to land, you need to add "plane maintain". if you want more planes
to land, you may need "medium tower" and more runways. Don't forget police
stations to keep the skies safe from scum.
2.3 MANAGE TERMINAL LAYOUT
The terminal itself must be managed. The plane stands should be as close to
the terminals (passenger or cargo) as much as possible. The terminal itself
(inside) should be laid out as logically as possible with plenty of room to
add things later, if you're playing in HARD mode.
2.4 ARRANGE TRANSPORTATION
Obviously, if no one can get to your airport, your airport is useless.
Therefore, access is needed.
In AT, there are only two transportation methods: road, and railroad. Some
terminals have a "subway area", but that comes late and is extremely
expensive. It's also a "built-and-forget" area... Just build it and don't
worry about it.
Initially you can forget about the railroad. Just connect the road to the
terminal and you're all set.
You will also need to add some long-stay parking. You can keep those quite
far from the terminal itself.
Later some airlines may require short-stay parking, taxi-stand, bus stops,
and so on.
2.5 CONTRACT NEGOTIATION
When you get a contract, you can negotiate the price. Usually the
vendors/airlines will lowball your initial request. If you just accept it,
you make less money. What you can do is decide to accept or reject
individual items, then send the whole contract back and see if they want to
renegotiate. You make more money this way.
However, don't send them back twice. They give up after rejecting their
offer twice.
2.6 DOING ALL THIS WITH THE BUDGET YOU GOT
You start with a fixed amount of money, and you have a slight credit line,
known in the game as "overdraft limit". If you exceed that, you go bankrupt
immediately.
A lot of these airport buildings cost a LOT of money. Some expensive
terminals cost like 12 million. A "plane maintain #1" cost 5 million. Most
of the buildings cost several million.
The trick is build it JUST as it is needed, and not before.
3 Understanding Airports
Running an airport is more than just pluck down a runway, build a terminal,
connect the roads, and watch money flow in. Bottlenecks can be everywhere,
and it is up to you to smooth things out, keep things running as smoothly
as possible.
Basically you need to "satisfy the customer", and that basically means
three things: satisfy the airlines, satisfy the pilots, and satisfy the
passengers. Eventually, you'll get to "satisfy all the contracts", but
that's later in the game.
3.1 SATISFY THE AIRLINES
The airlines want to be served well. They want the planes to be maintained,
refueled, and all that. If they want dedicated terminals, counters, or
cargo facilities, you need to give them that as well.
They also want adequate fire and police protection, among other things.
Having the admin building will tell you why other airlines have not signed
a contract yet. Then you must fix it! Unfortunately, Admin building only
tell you about ONE thing per airline at a time. If the airline wants TWO or
more things, you will need to wait another year or two to find out.
Most airlines are looking for certain structures. For example, some will
want Plane Maintain #1, Taxi Stand, Short-Stay Parking, etc.
After that, watch your reputation. Low reputation can cause airlines to
leave, among other things.
3.2 SATISFY THE PILOTS
The pilots basically want to spend the minimum amount of time on the
ground. If your taxiways are not long enough for the planes to taxi, or the
planes must use the runway itself to taxi, the pilots will complain.
In general, you need a taxiway parallel EACH runway. Connect the taxiway to
the runway every 1000 meters. On a 1000m runway, that means both ends. On a
2000m runway, it means both ends, and the middle. On a 3000m runway, both
ends, and two in the middle for total of four.
The taxiway then must reach the "plane stands" so the passengers can
disembark and board. Try to have multiple paths as well.
Using the short-section taxiways allows the planes to "stack". One plane
can wait in each section so you can you can "queue" the planes together.
The pilots will also complain if the turnaround is too slow, or they are
not getting refueled fast enough. That is mainly caused by bad placement of
turnaround and plane-maintain. Those structures should be placed next to
aprons, NOT directly on the taxiway. Those vehicles need their own room to
move around.
3.3 SATISFY THE PASSENGERS
The passengers want to speed through the lines, be it check-in, security /
customs, or the concessions. So make sure you have enough of each to
satisfy their needs.
You will be notified when you are running out of check-in desks. So add
some when you can.
Passengers also want a variety of other things, like photo booths, vending
machines, luggage carts, and so on. The "pager" will warn you of those
shortages. So add some more.
Passengers worry about reputation of your airport. If a couple bombs go
through, your reputation will take a SERIOUS hit, and some airlines may
pull up stakes and leave.
3.4 OUTSIDE BUSINESSES
Once your airport is popular outside businesses like hotels, gas stations,
and more will BEG to be near your airport, and will pay $$$ to do so, both
initial fee and yearly rent. Of course, you'll need to connect them to the
airport, and make sure they get enough business.
3.5 EASY ACCESS TO EVERYTHING
The aprons are needed for the airport vehicles to move around. This is in
addition to the taxiways. Remember, only ONE vehicle on each section at one
time. If a plane is on it, the vehicle cannot use it. Try to give the
vehicles alternate routes as well.
Roads are needed to the long-stay (long-term) and short-stay (short-term)
parking lots, and maybe an extra taxi-stand. You also need bus stands
and/or rail station when appropriate.
4 How to Start
4.1 CHOOSING THE CITY
In general, you would want your airport to have at least "3 planes" worth
of traffic, both domestic and international, as a good introduction. If you
have more than that, that is good, but the land prices may be high.
Watch the cities for certain problems. For example, Phoenix has extremely
high temperatures, while Miami has a lot of bad weather.
Watch the "weather" icons at the bottom. Hold the cursor over to button to
see what each of them actually mean. Each of the icons can be in any of the
5 states: zero, 25%, 50%, 75%, full. Consider the weather before accepting.
Some cities are prone to earthquakes, but that's not shown on the map. You
won't see it until you accept the city.
4.2 CHOOSING THE LAND PLOT
You have three choices... Close, Medium, or Far.
The Close choice is expensive, and it also forces you close to the city's
buildings (if any).
The Medium choice is a good compromise between cost and distance.
The Far choice is cheap, but is pretty far from the city, and may have poor
road acces.
In general, the "medium choice" is good enough. However, look at the land
cost before continuing. Also consider the various hazards or problems if
any.
Sometimes, medium/far may include "poor road access" as a problem.
4.3 CHOOSING THE SECTIONS TO BUY
There are several approaches. I personally buy something in the middle, a
wide strip.
Chris Hillcoat adds: Buy one square of land at the edge. This will be your
access square and you can put long-stay car parks, admin buildings and the
like there. Then buy a 2x2 or 3x3 block in the middle. This is so that when
the computer buys up the land around the edges, it will not obstruct your
main building area, ie. for longer runways and more terminals, etc.
I like Chris' idea. Though I would like to amend that to a 2x3 block
instead. Assuming upper-right is "north", 2 wide east-west and 3-wide north-
south is good. That should be enough to fit in a nice terminal, a 2000m
runway, and all the taxiways you need, with rooms for the support
structures. This section should be touching that square at the edge.
When you expand, you can go east or west.
4.4 OPTIONING THE LAND
Optioning the land basically means you can make sure no one else will buy
them by paying a fee to hold the land. While it's relatively cheap, you
don't have revenue to buy them for the next several years. So you have to
use a long-term option. This may deplete your initial funds. While you do
have quite a bit of credit line available for expansion, it's best not to
dip into it too much.
If you do want to reserve the land, I would suggest a 3 to 4-year option.
If your airport will make it, it should make it in 3 to 4 years. The cost
is relatively minor.
4.5 DECIDE YOUR APPROACH
You can create a cargo airport, a passenger airport, or a hybrid airport.
While passenger traffic yields more money, cargo airport is much easier to
maintain, at least initially.
I would suggest you start out with a cargo airport. The cargo facility is
cheaper than a terminal, and requires less auxiliary structures (parking,
etc.)
4.6 THE MINIMAL AIRPORT
The minimal airport means you need a cargo facility or a terminal, and a
runway, and a tower, and a couple long-stay parking places. However, you
can only plop down a terminal and a runway first. The rest you must "start
construction" (scissors cutting ribbon icon) to see.
After that, wait until the Jan 1, 1970 comes around. Slow time down to
slowest, then start connecting the airport together and pluck down the
control tower and the fire station. Connect the roads, and you're ready for
business! So open the runway, and increase speed again to medium or medium-
fast, and wait for the contracts to come in.
4.7 EXPAND CAREFULLY
Initially, you will be losing money every month until you have enough
contracts to break even. That's why you should NOT dip into the overdraft
much... You need it to cover your monthly expenses until you earn enough to
offset the losses.
You do NOT need a "plane maintain" at first. While this limits you to the
shorter-distance carriers, it also saves you from being bothered about slow
and unreliable refueling. You can save that 5 million to be used later.
You also do NOT need the Admin building at first. Only build it when you
get warned about your staff being overworked on paperwork.
Do NOT use more than half of your credit line (i.e. overdraft). Your banker
will yell, but as long as you don't use more than half your airport should
run fine and you'll make up the money later. As running out of money ends
your game immediately you would want to avoid that.
5 Airport Design
Most airports tend to look a bit alike, because the general design works.
5.1 TERMINAL DESIGN
The terminals usually form a U-shape, or are in a row, thus giving you
maximum number of jetways to planestands. Use the pre-fab terminals to
start. You can customize later.
It's best to plant the planestands next to the terminals. Jetways don't
become available until December of 1979, but it's best to be prepared.
5.2 TAXIWAY TO TERMINAL
You need a set of taxiway to touching the planestands. Eventually you'll
link this to the runway and taxiway, but that's later.
5.3 SUPPORT STRUCTURES
On the opposite side of this "taxiway", put the turnaround. A good rule of
thumb is each will serve about 4-5 planes. If you have more planestands
than that, add more turnarounds.
Remember to leave enough room for the "plane maintain" building when you do
want to add it.
5.4 CONNECTING TERMINAL TO TRANSPORTATION
The other side of the terminal (inside the U) is used for the roads, and
perhaps the short-stay parking garage (maybe the train station).
5.5 PARKING STRUCTURES
The long-stay parking would be quite a bit further away. Probably near
where the road enters the plot of land you're using. Four of them is good
enough to start. When you receive note about them being full, then add
another two to four at a time.
You do NOT need a short-stay parking initially. Add it when someone demands
it.
5.6 TAXIWAYS AND RUNWAYS
You would then start building taxiways, aprons, then runways. This allows
you usually to have runways on three sides (with the highway/railroad on
the fourth side). With parallel runways, you can have four runways easily.
Build a taxiway parallel the entire runway, with turnoff at three or more
places, beginning, end, and every 1000 meters. .
Link the taxiway back to the taxiway next to the plane stands.
One trick to note: the planes WILL taxi on aprons if taxiway is in use and
apron is wide enough. However, each plane will occupy only 1 section of the
apron.
You may want to place an "airport maintain" near each runway. They cut down
on "bird strikes".
You may also want to add a tower and a fire station at each runway.
5.7 POLICE AND FIRE STATIONS
Add at least TWO police stations, and set both to CAUTIOUS. You don't want
ANY bombs to get through, even if you have to slow the passengers down.
6 Building Tips and Explanations
Krisalis is no longer around, but here are some tips they once provided on
their website. I've prettied them up a bit, Americanized the spelling, and
numbered them. I also added a few notes.
6.1 TAXIWAYS
KRISALIS: Your planes need to get from the runway to the plane stands. Use
taxiways to connect these up. Connecting taxiways to both ends of a runway
will shorten taxiing times and reduce delays.
KC: Add taxiway to every 1000 m of runway. Small planes don't need the
whole runway and will taxi off at the nearest cut-off, making the runway
available for something else.
The sections each can contain one plane, so you can see quite a few planes
"lined up" in the queue to take off.
6.2 APRONS
KRISALIS: Aircraft support vehicles cannot use taxiways while planes are
using them. Building aprons will allow support vehicles to move more
quickly around the airport.
KC: The planes WILL use the aprons if the taxiways are blocked and the
aprons are wide enough. If you're extremely short on money, aprons can be
used as a temporary taxiway.
Aprons should be at least two-wide, and line both sides of the taxiways.
6.3 RUNWAYS
KRISALIS: Runways are essential to an airport. A small runway will get your
airport "off the ground," so to speak. Remember though that the only planes
that can land on a small runway will not be able to carry many passengers
and will have a short range. Also bear in mind that if you do not offer a
refueling service a plane has to get from its departure point and back
again on one planeload of fuel, limiting it's range even further.
KC: Consider starting with the short runway at first. Initially you need to
pinch every penny and that extra million you saved by using a short runway
can mean the difference between success and failure. When you have an extra
6-7 millions dollars (enough for the new 2000m runway and plane-maintain)
it's time to add the long runway and plane-maintain so you can attract the
bigger airlines.
If you squeeze your budget carefully, you CAN make an airport work with a
2000m runway to start. However, having both a 1000m runway and 2000m runway
helps you to segregate the traffic... The small planes will use the short
runway, and the larger planes use the longer runway, and so on.
6.4 CONTROL TOWERS
KRISALIS: Your control tower is responsible for guiding aircraft through
final approach, takeoff and ground movements. The smallest control tower
can safely handle up to 12 planes per hour whilst the largest is good for
50, but as the towers approach their limit the chance of danger increases,
especially during poor weather.
Not all planes will arrive exactly at their specified time. If more than
planes expected arrive in the vicinity the control tower will put them into
holding patterns without any interference from you, but delays do upset
passengers somewhat, and the larger the airport the bigger the opportunity
for delays.
Setting the control towers attitude to 'reckless' will mean less delays as
the control tower tries to get planes landed faster by flying them a little
closer together. Of course the chance of catastrophe increases if you take
this action. Setting the attitude to 'careful' will mean that the control
tower will play things very safe.
This is a good policy if your airport is getting busy and you are worried
that your tower may be unable to cope, in times when funding maybe a
problem, or in areas with frequent bad weather.
KC: You can have multiple towers. In general, you should add one tower per
runway. Calculate the number of flights you have and check how many towers
you got.
6.5 PLANE MAINTENANCE BUILDINGS
KRISALIS: The plane maintenance building contains your re-fuelling
contractors, plane steps, passenger transit vehicles and baggage trolleys.
There are several advantages to building plane maintenance buildings.
Firstly, the fact that you can offer refueling services increases the
number of potential destinations as airlines can refuel at your airport
rather than getting from the departure point and back again on one fuel
load.
Secondly, you have the potential to make some profit on the refueling
charges. By negotiating favorable terms for refueling with the airlines you
can make money on each planeload of fuel. There are a number of fuel
vendors you can choose from and, generally speaking, the price you pay for
aviation fuel reflects the service you get.
Although the oil companies offering cheaper fuel can handle all the work at
a smaller airport they will soon get snowed under as the airport grows or
starts to get busy. Larger plane maintenance buildings open up
opportunities to sign up more prestigious oil companies.
When airlines are considering using your airport as a hub for their
operations they will require good maintenance facilities to keep their
fleet in the air.
KC: Add those later, when you have the money. You don't need them, at least
initially.
Despite the description, the ONLY THING coming out of "plane maintain" is
the refuel tanker. Everything else (plane steps, baggage trolleys, and
passenger bus) comes out of turnaround.
6.6 TURNAROUND BUILDINGS
KRISALIS: The turnaround building contains the cleaning department and
catering sub-contractors for your airport. The larger the turnaround
building the larger your choice of caterers will be.
You pay for the in-flight meals on a per passenger basis, but do charge the
airlines. During the contract negotiation phase you arrange how much the
airline will pay for a catering service, so whether you choose a cheaper
caterer to go for profit, or provide decent meals as part of the service
for happier airlines and passengers is up to you.
KC: In general, hire the best caterer available in the best option. Try to
make a modest profit (say, 0.25 dollars) per passenger, but don't let the
airline push you too far either. If you select 4 per passenger, they may
offer you 2. If the caterer is 2.4, you will lose money. Of course, you can
make them back through other means, but keep that in mind as you go.
6.7 JETWAYS
KRISALIS: More expensive than a normal plane stand, the jetway, or
"airbridge" as some people prefer to call it, will keep your passengers
warm and dry. In the overall scheme of things, replacing plane stands with
jetways will not transform the happiness rating of your customers
overnight, but they will appreciate the shelter that a jetway affords. This
item can only be built adjacent to a two-story terminal building.
6.8 PLANE STANDS
KRISALIS: All aircraft need a dedicated parking area so that passengers can
disembark and the aircraft be serviced. If possible place the stands
adjacent to the terminal. With larger airports it may not be possible to
place stands next to the terminal, in which case your passengers will be
ferried via passenger transit vehicles supplied with the plane maintenance
building.
The number of plane stands you posses is directly linked to the number of
planes that can be on the ground at one time. If all of your plane stands
are full for part of the day a line will appear in the flight slot table to
show that these slots cannot be used unless more stands are built.
KC: You can add plane stands that are nowhere NEAR your terminals. They
look odd, but they work.
6.9 ADMINISTRATION BUILDINGS
KRISALIS: The administration building will help with the smooth running of
the airport. It houses the sales department who will work hard to bring in
valuable contracts with airlines and will report on the reasons why some
companies will not use your airport.
Once your airport is up and running you will need admin facilities to
handle the paperwork generated by airlines, caterers, refuelers, passengers
and cargo consignments. The busier your airport gets the more facilities
you will need. Indeed, not having enough facilities will prevent your
airport from growing, as nobody will have time to chase new business or
deal with requests from new airlines. You can build larger admin facilities
as they become available, or build multiple buildings.
KC: Again, don't build them until you really need them. While they DO help
bring in the contracts, at 2 mil each they are NOT cheap.
6.10 FIRE STATIONS
KRISALIS: All airports must have a fire department. Place your fire station
on a taxiway or apron so that response times are minimal.
Airport fire station #1 provides the bare minimum of cover, containing a
fire officer and some basic fire fighting equipment.
Airport fire station #2 houses a fire engine and some basic fire fighting
equipment.
Airport fire station #3 contains 2 fire engines and equipment to deal with
most emergencies.
Airport fire station #4 has 3 fire engines and equipment to deal with any
incident.
KC: Consider adding one fire-station every two runways, and one for every
terminal for optimum response time. When you have enough money, of course.
6.11 POLICE DEPARTMENTS
KRISALIS: An airport police department will help to reduce crime at an
airport, whether it be petty crime in the terminal or more serious stuff.
The larger the building the bigger the police presence will be. Also
multiple police buildings will increase the crime fighting effect.
You can also instruct police on how strict their behavior should be. Laid
back lawmen may be appreciated by the public for a while, but only until
the pickpockets move back in. Likewise, if you are a bit short of cash and
need to ensure your airport is well policed on limited resources then by
all means ramp up the attitude, but do not be surprised if passengers
resent the heavy-handed approach.
KC: Set them all to cautious or careful. Letting a bomb get through will do
MUCH worse to customer satisfaction than the slight "minus" you get from
the slightly heavy-handed approach.
6.12 INFIRMARIES
KRISALIS: Passengers will be pleased if you provide some medical services
for them, especially if it's free! Infirmary 1 supplies first aid
facilities. Infirmary 2 supplies a good variety of medical treatments.
KC: Just remember you don't get this until VERY modern days.
6.13 CARGO BUILDINGS
KRISALIS: Almost all carriers will prefer your airport to handle cargo, and
you will earn good revenue for doing so. Indeed, it is possible to run a
cargo only airport. As well as general cargo you have the opportunity to
handle perishable goods in cold storage, and animals in a livestock
building.
Each plane that comes in will use part of the cargo building, with cargo
only flights taking up more space. The current utilization percentage of
each cargo building is detailed on its property screen. The larger cargo
buildings have twice the capacity of their smaller equivalents.
KC: Remember which facility is the "last" one you plucked down. When that
one gets to 80% or more, it's time to add new ones.
6.14 TRAIN STATIONS
KRISALIS: If you are thinking of connecting your airport up to the railway
network you had better build a railway station at the end of the line. Make
sure you build it close to your airport. If passengers to have to lug their
suitcases a long way, they will only get upset.
Building a train station will encourage more passengers to travel to your
airport by rail and may alleviate traffic congestion problems.
Train station #1 can handle up to 1,000 passengers an hour and Train
station #2 can handle up to 3,000 passengers an hour.
KC: Consider forming sort of "transit hub" using your terminal, a taxi
stand, the train station, a bus station, and a short-stay garage al
together in a very close area.
6.15 BUS STOPS
KRISALIS: If you do not build bus stops all buses will have to use the drop
off point at your terminal entrance. This may be okay while your airport is
very small, but sooner or later you will have to build a bus stop. As your
airport grows multiple stops may be required.
Remember to place them near the terminal entrance, passengers laden down
with luggage do not like to walk far!
KC: You'll be warned about not enough bus stops. Just add some more in
strategic locations. I don't think the actual placement matters that much.
6.16 TAXI RANKS
KRISALIS: Give the taxis somewhere to park and the passengers somewhere to
wait. You can also introduce a surcharge on the taxis, a great way of
improving your income!
6.17 HELICOPTER PADS
KRISALIS: VIP's may wish to arrive and depart from your airport via private
helicopter, providing you with extra revenue.
6.18 LONG STAY CAR PARKS
KRISALIS: Make sure that you have enough places for your passengers to park
their cars. Passengers will be ferried to the airport terminal by mini-
buses supplied with the car park, so you need not worry about placing long
stay parking near the terminal entrance.
Car parks provide an opportunity to raise revenue, but overcharge and
you'll soon have the customers complaining.
KC: IN fact, keep the long-stay (long-term paking) as far as from the
terminals as possible. Figure 2 to 4 dollars a day is good.
6.19 SHORT STAY CAR PARKS
KRISALIS: Airport meeters-and-greeters and businessmen flying off for a day
trip will not mind paying a bit more for their parking, as long as it's
close to the terminal.
KC: As mentioned before, use a "transit hub".
6.20 TERMINAL ENTRANCE
KRISALIS: The terminal-entrance, in addition to letting passengers enter
the terminal, also contains a vehicle drop-off point. Busses and taxis can
use this drop-off point until things start getting busy after which you'll
be better off building taxi ranks and bus stops.
6.21 SPECTATOR GALLERIES
KRISALIS: Plane enthusiasts will flock to your airport if you provide this
plane-spotting paradise. Passengers will be happier too - it gives them
something to do if they have turned up too early for their flights.
Spectator gallery #1 will hold up to 100 people. Spectator gallery #2 will
hold up to 750 people.
KC: Remember, this becomes available quite late. Don't worry too much.
6.22 SCENERY
KRISALIS: Passengers will be happier if your airport does not resemble one
large grey monolith. Pretty the place up with grass, flowers and trees.
KC: Good place to do this is near the terminal entrance.
7 Terminal Interior Design
Terminal interior design is a MAJOR exercise in itself.
NOTE: On EASY or MEDIUM level, you CANNOT build specific enhancements
inside the terminals.
7.1 TERMINAL AREAS
A basic terminal has these following areas: (some areas become available
later).
ú Check-in area -- touching the entrance, funnel through security
ú Security area -- all must go THROUGH security to read the departure
and gate
ú Baggage area -- next to arrival area is best, but OUTSIDE security
ú Retail mall -- either create a LONG STRIP, or dedicate a whole
room/floor to it. Best to force people to walk past/through it to get to
where they're going.
ú Gate area -- this is the section that should touch the jetways or
such. They should be a thin section touching the outside wall.
ú Arrivals hall -- same idea... wait here for the arrivals
ú Departure lounge -- bench seats for the departure passengers to wait
at. Should be next to the gates.
ú Information area -- info kiosk area... next the entrance is best.
ú Entrance area -- your main door
ú Subway area -- allow you to get more throughput, near the entrance is
good. Outside security!
ú VIP lounge -- some airlines may require it, inside security, inside
departure lounge
ú CrŠche area -- children's area, inside departure lounge
ú Prayer room -- chapel, inside departure lounge
ú Toilet area -- you know what... both inside and outside
ú Corridor -- self-explanatory
7.2 GENERAL ARRANGEMENT
When's the last time you have been to an airport? Did you notice how the
terminal itself is laid out?
When you walk into the terminal, departure level, you come to the check-in
desks, with some restrooms, and information area. You may also notice
"subway area" (train station), and some retail area here as well.
Once you've checked in, you come to security area.
After you have passed through security, you are in the departure area.
Surrounding the departure lounge would be the gates. The VIP lounge would
be here also, as would more retail area, information area, and so on.
You'll also need "Creche Area" (children room) here. And of course, add
more toilets.
When you arrive, you walk from the gates to arrival area, back through
security (this time, going OUT) then to baggage claim, and finally out to
entrance.
7.3 THINKING ABOUT SECURITY ACCESS
Once you've laid out your terminal, check your entrances. Are you SURE
there is NO WAY any one can move from the entrance to the gates area
WITHOUT having to go THROUGH security area?
This is especially critical if you have a two-story terminal. There are two
entrances on the top floor (stairs) and one entrance at the bottom floor.
7.4 THINK ABOUT EASY ACCESS
Consider the individual area doors. It is best if those doors line up
DIRECTLY on each other, no offset. While it is difficult, do try. It makes
your airport far more efficient and easier to add items if you do it this
way.
The reason for doing so is the sim considers the path of the passengers
from door to door, and won't let you put things in their way. If your doors
do not line up exactly, you wasted area that could have been used to add
more desks, more chairs, more carts, and what-not.
7.5 AVAILABLE TERMINAL IMPROVEMENTS
Remember, you can't add these improvements if you are playing in EASY or
MEDIUM mode. The specific improvements can only be added in HARD mode.
The actual arrangement is NOT a factor. ONLY the numbers count. However,
it's better to line them up and make it look nice... It's your airport.
ALSO, you cannot add anything in the middle of a "passthrough path", which
basically is the path from one door to the other door in the room.
NOTE: To add terminal improvements, click on "select terminal area", then
click on area you want to add items to. Then the things available to be
built will appear on a separate 'tab'.
NOTE: Not all things will be allowed in all areas, and not all items may be
available initially!
Cart stops -- you need them ALL over the place... inside AND outside of
security, but esp. around the baggage area. You need some around the gates
as well. You'll get warnings about areas being short on the carts.
Escalator -- needed if you have a two-story terminal, but keep them OUTSIDE
security.
Travelator -- those moving walkways, you know? horizontal escalators?
Useful in very long terminals, great for long corridors. On the other hand,
if you have a 2-wide or 3-wide corridor you may as well put a retail
section in there.
Drinking fountain -- all over the place, probably near rest rooms are the
best.
Photo booth -- retail area, or all over. You should get notice about not
having enough.
Information monitors -- departure and arrival lounge, and in the corridors.
Next to each entrance is also good.
Carousels (1, 2, and 3) -- baggage area, of course. Bigger the better. You
can't trade in old stuff, so you may as well spend the money now.
Check-in desk -- check-in area, enough said. Figure at least two per
airline that comes along, and four undedicated. You'll need a LOT more
before you're through.
Metal detector -- security area, of course. Figure six to start.
Partition -- close off areas you don't need people to go, security area is
good, or just use in case a room is too big.
Rope barrier -- same as partition, but less restrictive.
X-Ray machine -- security area, add more, LOTS more as time goes by
Service desk -- in the check-in area, and arrival lounge, and departure
lounge. Figure two to four is good for now
Vending machine -- all over the place
Retail shops [too many to list] -- retail area
7.6 SOME GENERAL TIPS
Don't make an area TOO large. It's better to have several smaller areas
spread out a bit than one HUGE area. This makes it much easier to dedicate
certain areas to certain airlines.
It's better to make one LONG stretch of retail along the corridors so the
passengers can't help but to walk by most of the shops and restaurants. If
you dedicate a room, try to make both inbound and outbound passengers walk
through that section.
You need retail both INSIDE AND OUTSIDE of security.
Don't add things unless requested to do so.
HARD MODE: Use partitions to control the areas.
7.7 DEDICATE DESKS AND CARGO FACILITIES
To dedicate a check-in desk, zoom in, and click on the desk, then click on
the button to the lower middle. That will let you assign the desk to an
airline with an appropriate master contract.
You can do the same thing with a cargo facility to dedicate that to an
airline.
8 Outside vendors
Outside vendors, like hotels, petrol (gas) stations, and so on will also
want to sign contracts with you due to the popularity of your airport.
Here's a few tips.
The way hotel and petrol stations work is when you see the contract and
accept the terms, you must immediately put the structure on the map, with
the entrance connected to a stretch of road.
8.1 HOTELS
The hotels should be placed near the long-stay parking area. It's probably
best if you create a side street or two and put the hotels on either side
of the side street. If you're in a hurry you could just slap them down
facing that main "thoroughfare" that leads to the terminal, but it's better
to use a couple side streets.
You pretty much know what sizes the hotels are, so you can build a couple
"blocks" and be ready for them. It's probably best to leave room so you can
fit the hotel in later.
8.2 PETROL (GASOLINE) STATIONS
Petrol stations use less space than hotels, so you should be able to
squeeze them in even easier. Otherwise, it's same as hotels.
9 Airport Design with Real Life Examples
Let us examine two airports... Oakland International, a low-volume single-
story airport, and San Francisco International, one of the busiest airports
on the west coast. And let's see how they are organized.
You should visit your airport, pick up one of their free diagrams (you may
even find them in your phonebook) and see how THEY organize the whole
thing. It helps if you emulate them.
If you go to the FAA website (http://www.faa.gov), you can search and
download "airport charts" for any of the major airports in the country.
They will show the different runways, the taxiways, the towers, and so on.
9.1 OAKLAND INTERNATIONAL
OAK is a pretty small airport, but it is FAR less crowded than SFO, and
planes there actually leave ontime. :-D
Any way, OAK has two terminals. Terminal 1 is everybody except Southwest,
and Terminal 2 is... you guessed it, dedicated to Southwest. And even then,
Southwest sometimes uses some Terminal 1 jetways.
When you enter the airport, you follow the contour of the short-term
parking lot to the entrances to both terminals.
Once inside the terminal, you come to check-in area (with some retail
area), information, and toilet. You also see the baggage claim here as
there is no separate level.
You go through security and you arrive in the departure area, where you'll
find more service desks, the gates, and more retail.
9.2 SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL
San Francisco International is one of the busiest airports on the west
coast, next to LAX and Seatac (Seattle-Tacoma International).
The design was recently updated by adding a new 3-level International
terminal that straddles the existing entrance.
When you drive into the airport, you'll find the three domestic terminals
(only two are in use at the moment) to south, east, then north. The
terminals are on your "right" side, while the short-term garage is to your
left. You "circle" around the garage. Again, departure is on the upper
level while arrival and baggage claim is on the lower level.
There are technically SIX sections (A-F on the domestic side), each with
the moving walkways from the garage to the terminal itself. Each of the
terminal building houses two to three sections.
Terminal 1 (i.e. south terminal) has most of the miscellaneous airlines,
basically everybody except American Airlines and United Airlines. AA and UA
are in Terminal 3 (i.e. north terminal).
The two domestic terminals are laid out the same way. The upper "departure
level" have the check-in desks, with some retail, and the escalators to
downstairs. Going in, you'll see the security area, then the departure
lounge, which is a long STRIP instead of one room, dotted with retail.
You'll also find VIP lounges, restaurants, and such here. Then the lounge
branches into each of the "arms" containing jetways.
When you come back in, you come down the jetways, then downstairs into
departure, where you'll find the baggage claim area, and right outside
would be taxi, shuttle, and so on.
The international terminal is slightly different. The departure level has a
HUGE lounge with check-in desks. SFO uses the "flexible signs" system that
supposedly can be more flexible, but right now half of the desks sits
vacant. There are like 10 different ROWS of desks, each side dedicated to
one airline. Any way, all the way in, you'll find the retail shops. To the
left and right, the A and G boarding arms, are the security gates, which
leads to MORE shops and restaurants, and finally, to the jetways and VIP
lounges.
Coming back in, you come back through the arms, through security, into the
baggage area, where you pickup your luggage from the carousels, go through
customs and immigration, then finally out into the arrivals lobby where
you're greeted by screaming relatives, and a few more shops.
International terminal is supposed to be served by the AirTrain commuter
system, and eventually, by BART commuter train system as well. However,
that comes later in 2002.
10 Problem Solving
10.1 PILOT COMPLAINTS
P: The pilot of _____ flight number _____ reports delays due to slow
refueling.
P: The pilot of _____ flight number _____ reports delays due to unreliable
refueling.
P: The pilot of _____ flight number _____ reports delays due to poor plane
maintenance.
Your plane-maintain is not close enough to the plane stands, or you don't
have enough plane- maintain buildings. Upgrade to better "plane maintain"
when you can. Your plain-maintain vendor may also need to be better.
P: The pilot of _____ flight number _____ reports delays due to slow
catering services.
P: The pilot of _____ flight number _____ reports delays due to poor
catering.
P: The pilot of _____ flight number _____ reports delays due to slow
turnarounds.
Switch to a better caterer in the "turnaround" or get more turnarounds. Or
get turnarounds closer to the plane stands. If it's already close, you have
"traffic" problems as the planes have to fight the vehicles for spaces.
P: The pilot of _____ flight number _____ reports delays due to flight
control restrictions.
Your runway slots are grouped too tightly together. Give them a bit of
cushion in between. Upgrade to a better tower will also help.
P: The pilot of _____ flight number _____ reports delays due to bad
weather.
There's nothing you can do about it. Possibility of bad weather is a part
of the risk at your location.
P: The pilot of _____ flight number _____ reports delays due to second-rate
aircraft.
Huh?
10.2 AIRLINE NEEDS
Airlines don't complain. They simply won't send any flights your way if you
don't have certain things.
If you remember signing a master contract, but don't see any planes, check
the contract if they wanted something in specific, like dedicated cargo
facility, dedicated check-in desk, and so on. The sooner you build them,
the sooner they send flights.
You need an "admin" building to figure out what the airline wants. Usually
it's things like cargo facilities, taxi stands, bus stops, and so on.
If they want dedicated desks or cargo facilities, give it to them. Just
make sure you have at least two (or four if not more) non-dedicated
facilities / desks available for use by the other airlines.
Reputation is a bit harder to gauge. I got an easy-mode airport running
that's raking in almost 2 million per year, but reputation is quite bad.
Every once in a while I get a report about bomb onboard. That's mainly a
security problem.
10.3 TERMINAL NEEDS
NOTE: You will get these warnings in EASY and MEDIUM mode as well. As you
can't do anything about them, feel free to ignore them.
P: Terminal _____ Area _____ need more carts
P: Passengers in Terminal ______ demand more photo booths.
P: Passengers in Terminal ______ demand more vending machines.
P: Security area in Terminal ______ need more X-ray machines.
Well, go add some!
P: Queue is forming in front of counter _____ in terminal _____
You need to dedicate more desks to that airline. Remember to reserve AT
LEAST that many UNDEDICATED desks around, figure 4 or more.
P: There are not enough general check-in counters in terminal _____
Add more check-in desks.
10.4 EMERGENCIES
P: There's a bomb onboard one of the planes!
Somehow it got through your security. You should have AT LEAST TWO Airport
Police Stations, if not three, and set them to CAUTIOUS. Yes, it'll be
slower, but the delay is better than the bomb getting through.
P: Fire in _________ at Terminal _______!
Just wait for your fire department to respond. Of course, you better have
one.
P: Plane ______ suffered a bird strike while ______
Add more "airport maintain" structures. That keeps down the bird strikes.
Figure at least ONE per runway.
P: Bomb found in terminal and defused.
That just means your cops are on the job.
10.5 VENDOR COMPLAINTS
Both Inside Vendors and Outside vendors will vent their displeasure at you,
not that there is too much you can do about it...
P: Petrol Station owner complains that he doesn't have enough customers.
P: Hotel owner complains that he doesn't have enough customers
You can pretty much ignore them. Though try this: when you design the road
linking from edge all the way to terminal, have it do a couple S-turns,
enough to fit the hotels and the petrol stations and such. That way, any
one leaving can't help BUT to pass by the hotels and gas stations, thus
ensuring a lot of business.
P: Store _____ in terminal _____ complains about his store position.
The problem with the stores is they need to be open on AT LEAST one side,
and all open to this "corridor". So leaning EVERYBODY against the walls
immediately may NOT be a good idea. You'll end up with a jagged row of
stores that won't line up properly and look horrible.
10.6 MISCELLANEOUS
P: The paperwork is overwhelming your admin section!
Build another admin section.
11 My MEDIUM Nairobi Airport
Why Nairobi? Great weather in general. Occasional earthquake, but no tall
buildings to worry about.
With only 15 mil to start and 5 mil in overdraft, budget is pretty tight.
Must not fall below -3 mil or the monthly expenses will kill the airport
before it gets off the ground.
Got the land and paid for 7 squares.
Decided to go after both cargo and passenger market. Built "pre-fab
terminal #1", fire station, and "2000m runway". Then got the clock started
and built fire station, taxiway, 2 police stations, 1 cargo terminal, 4
plane stands, and 1 airport maintain. No plane maintain yet for this
airport. Added 1 long-stay parking near the road entrance, connected the
road entrance to the terminal, and waited... Balance is about -1 million
and steadily dropping...
Soon the contracts started to arrive, both passenger and cargo (and hybrid
as well). Small planes at first, but larger planes start to come in.
Decided to add an admin section and risk the budget slightly. Placed that
just opposite the long-stay parking.
After that, it's just steadily accepting the contracts. The airport
actually pulled even that first year... Didn't lose any money except those
used in construction, and things are looking up...
Next year, the balance sheets start to improve steadily... Money started
rolling in as more and more planes and airlines start to negotiate
contracts. The balance started to go positive, and kept on going. When the
balance reached 4 million, I added "plane maintain #1", and when the
balance went back to positive, add another cargo terminal.
The end of second year saw the bottom line improve to 2 million positive
from 2 million negative.
The third year started with a hotel contract. Put that next to the long-
stay parking and admin. Had to add more and more cargo facility as the
existing ones are filling up. We're up to four, then five, then six...
Decided to add two more plane stands, for a total of six, surrounding the
terminal on 3 sides. Also added short-stay parking garage and taxi stand
for another airline.
Then petrol (gas station) contracts started coming in, along with another
hotel contract. More airlines signed up, and even more flights. Added more
long-stay parking when that's full. Added bus stops for another airline.
End of third-year saw the balance sheet improve to 12 million, from 2
million, despite the frantic expansion.
The fourth-year went off to a VERY good start. The first runway is almost
booked solid (80% utilization), so I decided to buy some land for a second
runway. Did that, added a MEDIUM tower and more cargo facilities. Of
course, more flights came in.
End of fourth year saw the balance sheet improve to almost 100 million. The
airport also won economic award and safety award.
Decided to end the game here.
12 Scenario Notes
None at this time, will be updated later.
13 Reference Tables
Thanks to Airport Inc Fancenter and Koon Tang for these information.
13.1 TERMINALS
Building Cost OpCost Avail Size
=====================================================================
Terminal Entrance $10,000 $0 1970 8x2
Terminal 1 $30,000/tile ?? 1970 N/A
2 Storey Terminal 1 $60,000/tile ?? 1970 N/A
Terminal 2 $25,000/tile ?? 10/71 N/A
2 Storey Terminal 2 $37,500/tile ?? 11/71 N/A
Terminal 3 $30,000/tile ?? 6/72 N/A
2 Storey Terminal 3 $45,000/tile ?? 9/72 N/A
Terminal 4 $35,000/tile ?? 7/73 N/A
2 Storey Terminal 4 $52,500/tile ?? 8/73 N/A
Terminal 5 $37,500/tile ?? 5/74 N/A
2 Storey Terminal 5 $55,000/tile ?? 6/74 N/A
Terminal 6 $40,000/tile ?? 3/75 N/A
2 Storey Terminal 6 $60,000/tile ?? 4/75 N/A
Prefab Terminal #1 $1,254,240 ?? 1970 14x4
Prefab Terminal #2 $2,404,425 ?? 1970 14x8
Prefab Terminal #3 $4,462,500 ?? 1970 28x5
Prefab Terminal #4 $10,496,120 ?? 1970 35x14 with
gap
Prefab Terminal #5 $12,084,355 ?? 1970 34x5+piers
Prefab Terminal #6 $22,922,680 ?? 1970 Entrance:
15x3
13.2 AIRPORT SUPPORT
Building Cost OpCost Avail Size
=====================================================================
Airport Maintain #1 $2,000,000 $1,000,000 1970 3x3
Airport Maintain #2 $3,000,000 $1,500,000 11/72 4x4
Airport Maintain #3 $5,000,000 $2,500,000 9/75 4x4
Airport Maintain #4 $7,500,000 $3,500,000 3.85 5x6
Airport Maintain #5 $10,000,000 $5,000,000 1/02 6x6
Plane Maintain #1 $5,000,000 $1,000,000 1970 12x9
Plane Maintain #2 $7,500,000 $1,500,000 4/74 12x10
Plane Maintain #3 $10,000,000 $2,000,000 11/83 13x12
Plane Maintain #4 $15,000,000 $3,000,000 2/04 23x15
Turnaround #1 $1,000,000 $330,000 1970 3x3
Turnaround #2 $1,750,000 $600,000 4/76 5x4
Turnaround #3 $2,500,000 $1,250,000 7/82 5x4
Turnaround #4 $3,500,000 $1,750,000 6/87 5x4
Small Control Tower $1,000,000 $500,000 1970 2x2
Medium Control Tower $3,000,000 $1,250,000 5/72 3x2
Large Control Tower $5,000,000 $2,000,000 3/85 5x4
Admin #1 $2,000,000 $500,000 1970 4x3
Admin #2 $4,000,000 $1,000,000 10/79 4x4
Admin #3 $8,000,000 $2,000,000 9/90 6x5
13.3 RUNWAYS, TAXIWAYS, APRONS, ETC.
* -- runways are maintained through "airport maintain" building
Building Cost OpCost Avail Size
=====================================================================
1000m Runway $2,500,000 * 1970 30x5
2000m Runway $5,000,000 * 1970 60x5
3000m Runway $7,500,000 * 2/77 90x5
3500m Runway $10,000,000 * 8/84 105x5
Jetway $20,000 $0 12/79 8x7
Plane Stand $10,000 $0 1970 8x7
Taxiway $250/sq.m $0 1970 5x5
Apron $100/sq.m $0 1970 N/A
Helipad $50,000 $0 11/83 3x4
13.4 STORAGE FACILITIES
Building Cost OpCost Avail Size
=====================================================================
Cargo #1 $1,250,000 $625,000 1970 5x4
Cargo #2 $2,000,000 $1,000,000 1/79 7x5
Livestock #1 $1,500,000 $500,000 6/74 3x3
Livestock #2 $2,000,000 $500,000 5/82 3x3
Cold Storage #1 $1,000,000 $300,000 4/76 3x2
Cold Storage #2 $1,750,000 $600,000 3/85 5x6
13.5 TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE
Building Cost OpCost Avail Size
=====================================================================
Train Station #1 $1,000,000 $0 1970 6x4
Train Station #2 $2,000,000 $0 9/82 9x4
Gravel Car Park $5,000 $0 1970 5x3
Long-stay Car Park $25,000 $0 1970 5x3
Short-stay Car Park $1,000,000 $0 1970 11x7
Road $50 $0 1970 1
Taxi rank $10,000 $0 1970 6x2
Bus stop $2,000 $0 1970 2x1
Train track $100 $0 1970 1
Spectator Gallery #1 $100,000 $20,000 1/84 2x2
Spectator Gallery #2 $500,000 $250,000 2/90 5x4
13.6 EMERGENCY SERVICES
Building Cost OpCost Avail Size
=====================================================================
Airport Police #1 $100,000 $50,000 1970 2x2
Airport Police #2 $250,000 $125,000 3/74 3x3
Airport Police #3 $500,000 $250,000 4/79 5x4
Airport Police #4 $1,000,000 $500,000 5/94 8x4
Airport Fire Station #1 $100,000 $50,000 1970 3x2
Airport Fire Station #2 $400,000 $200,000 4/75 3x3
Airport Fire Station #3 $800,000 $400,000 6/80 4x4
Airport Fire Station #4 $1,500,000 $750,000 5/94 8x4
Infirmary #1 $350,000 $175,000 6/85 1x2
Infirmary #2 $600,000 $300,000 7/95 3x2
13.7 DECORATIONS
Building Cost OpCost Avail Size
=====================================================================
Flowers/Concrete $200 $0 1970 1x1
Trees $1000 $0 1970 1x1
Plane Statue $1,000 $0 3/96 1x1
13.8 TERMINAL AREAS
Building Cost OpCost Avail Size
=====================================================================
Most Rooms $500/tile $0 1970 N/A
Corridor/Toilets $50/tile $0 1970 N/A
Subway Area $4,000/tile $0 1/85 N/A
Prayer Room $500/tile $0 1/88 N/A
CrŠche Area $500/tile $0 1/91 N/A
14 Misc Info
14.1 CHEATS
There are no built-in cheats for Airport Tycoon. There is a trainer or two
available but they seem to depend on different versions of the game. The
trainers mainly adjust things like revenue and building availability list
and so on.
