START HERE
Worlds & seasons
World types, tournaments, private worlds, settings, traffic rights and joining.
Worlds and seasons
A world is a lasting game with its own name, settings and community; a season is one run of it. Each world sets its era, pace and whether its seasons end. One might play 1970–2000 at one game day per real hour and end with final standings; another might run at real time on the real calendar and never end.
Airlines, markets and capital belong to their season, and each season starts fresh. Nothing carries between worlds or seasons except your profile: your career record, results and trophies. Play lists your companies in every world and every world open to you. Flight Crew play in up to five worlds at once, not counting test worlds or ended seasons; members play in any number.
World types
The Worlds page lists worlds in sections by type: tournaments first, then realistic, open and sandbox worlds. A world's own settings, on its Overview, say how it plays. The team's test worlds, for trying parts of the simulation, award no trophies.
Tournaments have prizes of membership for their top places by one final standing, such as market value. They open for joining one to two weeks before their clock starts, and are advertised across the site while they are planned or under way. A player wins at most one prize, for their best airline. When a tournament ends the team reviews play before granting prizes, and can pass over anyone who played unfairly; those below move up. Winners are notified, and the prize shows with the airline on their profile.
Private worlds
Members can host private worlds for friends or a league, from Worlds → Private worlds: a name, start year, season length, pace, time to join, number of players, starting capital and leasing, with the latest data and rules. Only people with the invitation link can see and join; the host can replace the link and remove anyone's access. A member hosts up to two at a time. Private worlds award no trophies, but their airlines still go into career records.
What differs between worlds
| Setting | What it changes |
|---|---|
| Era | Aircraft and cabin classes, fuel prices, demand and the political map |
| Start and end | When it starts, and whether and when the season ends |
| Pace | Game time per real hour, from real time upward |
| Traffic rights | Historical rights and closed airspace, or open skies |
| Leasing | Whether players may run leasing companies |
| Company limits | Companies and airlines each player may run |
| Starting capital | Each player's capital, in 2020 dollars paid in the money of the world's year |
| Home airports | Any airport, or a list |
| Alliances | The most airlines in one |
Traffic rights
Where a world uses historical rights, foreign airlines cannot fly domestic routes, flying between two foreign countries needs agreements, some airspace is closed so routes detour around it, and markets open over time, such as Europe's single market from 1997. Each market says whether you may fly it, and why not. Other worlds let any airline fly anywhere.
A world that changes
The world → Economy shows jet fuel following history, prices against the season's start, demand by region with the seasons, world events and the weather closing or slowing airports. Rare world events affect every airline alike and are announced in the news. A plan that works in 1975 may not survive 1979. In a world at the present day, fuel and inflation follow published figures, and a season that runs past today follows projections.
Joining
Each season opens for joining before its clock starts: three to four days, a tournament one to two weeks. Join then and you start on equal terms. Until the clock starts, joining is all you can do. Seasons stay open to new players throughout unless a closing date is set; later joiners face busier markets but also find used aircraft, partners and shares to buy.
Capital, restarts and absence
Each player receives the world's starting capital on joining, worth the same in every era. If your airline fails, your capital is topped up to the starting capital once, so you can found another. In a world that never ends, an airline whose player has been away for 90 days is wound down: its aircraft go to market and its gates and slots are released. Its record stays on your profile.