I haven’t noticed any values that would tell the player how favourably a plane is seen by the passengers. Some planes had particular image problems, like the Comet, while others were kept by the airlines, even though they were borderline unprofitable, just because they were immensely popular with passengers and seen as a technological wonder of the time (Stratocruiser is probably the best example). This should also penalise airlines in the west for buying Soviet craft, which was popularly seen as unsafe and even obsolete.
Airlinesim has an interesting system with image and passenger popularity buffs or debuffs, based on the craft you have. It was a huge boost for Pan American and BOAC that they had a Stratocruiser, the largest and most luxurious plane of its era, even though they struggled to keep them profitable. In the modern era this wouldn’t be as spectacular, but planes like the Dreamliner can still be a strong statement regarding the airline’s strength, and similarly, a US airline buying Russian craft would suffer a terrible PR blow.
Also, although it’s a separate suggestion, it would be rather important to place restrictions and preferences on airlines in some countries.
1) Soviet bloc airlines should not be permitted to buy non-Soviet bloc planes.
2) If possible, airlines should seek to buy a plane made in their own country first, at least until the 50s/60s, regarding political preferences. I guess it could be tricky for the AI to decide whether to buy a half-decent local plane or a much better foreign one, but factors such as the design date, speed, capacity and costs should do the convincing bit.
3) West Berlin was historically only serviced by one airline each from the western countries, I wonder if that’s doable, perhaps as a separate license granted at the start to historical airlines and later available to purchase for a very significant price?
4) Some airlines had significant “first dibs” on planes, Boeing 314, Stratocruiser and Boeing 707 are a good example, as Boeing had a long-lasting relationship with Pan Am.
Airlinesim has an interesting system with image and passenger popularity buffs or debuffs, based on the craft you have. It was a huge boost for Pan American and BOAC that they had a Stratocruiser, the largest and most luxurious plane of its era, even though they struggled to keep them profitable. In the modern era this wouldn’t be as spectacular, but planes like the Dreamliner can still be a strong statement regarding the airline’s strength, and similarly, a US airline buying Russian craft would suffer a terrible PR blow.
Also, although it’s a separate suggestion, it would be rather important to place restrictions and preferences on airlines in some countries.
1) Soviet bloc airlines should not be permitted to buy non-Soviet bloc planes.
2) If possible, airlines should seek to buy a plane made in their own country first, at least until the 50s/60s, regarding political preferences. I guess it could be tricky for the AI to decide whether to buy a half-decent local plane or a much better foreign one, but factors such as the design date, speed, capacity and costs should do the convincing bit.
3) West Berlin was historically only serviced by one airline each from the western countries, I wonder if that’s doable, perhaps as a separate license granted at the start to historical airlines and later available to purchase for a very significant price?
4) Some airlines had significant “first dibs” on planes, Boeing 314, Stratocruiser and Boeing 707 are a good example, as Boeing had a long-lasting relationship with Pan Am.