Airport Tycoon
Unofficial Strategy Guide and FAQ
by Kasey Chang
released August 12, 2002
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.
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.
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,
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 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.
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 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
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
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, concessioneers, 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.
Supposedly Take 2 has Sunstorm working on a sequel, but there is
no mention of it on their website. A brochure was available at
E3, but no further details are available except better graphics.
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
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.
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 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.
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 northeast (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 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.
6.1 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 Cr?che 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
6.2 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.
6.3 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 WITHOUT having to go THROUGH security?
This is especially critical if you have a two-story terminal.
There are two entrances on the top and one entrance at the
bottom.
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.
6.4 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.
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.
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.
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.
Metal detector -- security area, of course. Figure at least six.
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.
Service desk -- in the check-in area, and arrival lounge, and
departure lounge. Figure half the number of check-in desks are
good.
Vending machine -- all over the place
Retail shops [too many to list] -- retail area
6.5 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.
6.6 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.
7 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.
7.1 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.
7.2 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.
8 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.
8.1 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.
8.2 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.
9 Problem Solving
9.1 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?
9.2 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.
9.3 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.
Well, go add some!
P: Queue is forming in front of counter _____ in terminal _____
You may need to dedicate more desks to that airline. Remember to
reserve AT LEAST that many UNDEDICATED to any one.
P: There is not enough general check-in counters in terminal
_____
Add more check-in desks.
9.4 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 on the ramps, 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.
P: Bird strike
Add more "airport maintain" structures. That keeps down the bird
strikes.
P: Bomb found in terminal and defused.
That just means your cops are on the job.
9.5 MISCELLANEOUS
P: The paperwork is overwhelming your admin section!
Build another admin section.
10 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.
11 Reference Tables
Thanks to Airport Inc Fancenter and Koon Tang for these
information.
11.1 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 4x5+piers
Prefab Terminal #6 $22,922,680 ?? 1970 Entrance: 15x3
11.2 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
11.3 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
11.4 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
11.5 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
11.6 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
11.7 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
11.8 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
Cr?che Area $500/tile $0 1/91 N/A
12 Misc Info
12.1 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.
