About Gate & Globe

The game

Every player runs an airline in a shared world. You buy, lease or order aircraft, plan routes and timetables, fit cabins, set fares and staff the operation. Passengers choose between airlines on fare, frequency, journey time, comfort, service and reputation. How the airline simulator works covers demand, flight paths and aircraft, and the airline management side covers fares, money and shares.

Compared with Airline Empires

Gate & Globe keeps what made Airline Empires work and changes what its developer and players wanted fixed:

• Demand comes from real travel between cities, so extra seats fly empty instead of creating passengers.
• Travellers connect across networks and choose on more than price. An established airline with a good reputation keeps much of its share against a cheaper newcomer.
• Fleets fly real timetables. Aircraft are individual airframes that age with hours and cycles and go in for checks.
• Pilots are qualified on an aircraft family, so every extra family costs money.
• Growth is limited by costs rather than caps or clicking.
• Players own shares. Companies can list, and a company can be taken over.

The full comparison is on Gate & Globe as an Airline Empires alternative.

Worlds

Each world sets its own era, pace and rules. One might play 1970 to 2000 at an hour per game day and end with final standings; another runs on the real calendar and never resets. Each season opens with a few days to join before the clock starts, and everyone begins with fresh companies and capital.

Any kind of airline

Low-cost, regional, legacy, long-haul and cargo airlines compete in different markets. Rankings cover profit and reputation as well as size, so a small, well-run airline can win something.

Time and devices

An established airline keeps operating for days between visits. The site works in any browser, including on a phone.

Payment

The game is free to play. Membership is optional and prepaid, never renews automatically, and adds rank insignia and the right to run leasing companies; other paid extras are cosmetic.

Community

Talk strategy in the forum, post liveries and logos in the gallery and publish press releases for your airline in Dispatches.