How to play Low Cost Airline Manager

In a Nutshell

Each player operates flights between airports preselected in the setup phase.

Every round represents a month when passengers try to travel between two cities on the map.

Players operate flights between the airports can offer a price; the lowest price wins the passenger and removes the airplane from the game.

The goal of the game is to make the most money.

(Step by Step with photos can be found at the bottom of the page)

Setup Instructions

1. Setup starts with the youngest player and proceeds clockwise.
   • Each player receives 6, 4, or 3 Airplane tokens when playing with 2, 3, or 4 players, respectively.
   • Each player receives 10 Fare cards of the same color
   • Each player places an Airport die on an available airport on the Game board until 6 are placed.
     
   • Each player places half of their Airplane tokens on routes until everyone has done it once. Then the order is reversed (Snake turn order).
     • The last player to place their Airplane tokens in the first round places all their airplanes before moving counterclockwise. 
2. The Month marker is placed on April.

Detailed Rules

1. One player rolls the 2 white Passenger dice to determine an O&D.
   • If the dice show the same airport twice, the player who rolled chooses the O&D from that airport.
2. Each player checks if they can offer a valid itinerary for the O&D.
3. Players with valid itineraries can submit a Fare card face down.
   • Player can also decide to not submit a Fare card
4. Players reveal their Fare cards simultaneously. The player with the lowest fare wins.
   • A one-stop itinerary must be at least half as cheap as a non-stop option to be competitive. (E.g., a Fare card of 300 for a one-stop is less attractive than a non-stop fare of 400.)
5. The winner keeps their winning Fare card face up and removes their Airplane tokens from the map. 
   • In case of a tie, all tied players get paid and remove their tokens.
   • If a player has multiple Airplane tokens between two airports, only one is removed.
   • For a multi-stop itinerary, all Airplane tokens forming the itinerary are removed.
6. The Month marker moves to the next month, and the sequence repeats from step 1.
   • When changing seasons (after October and March), the board resets. All Airplane tokens are removed and placed again in turns.  Airport dice stay in place.
7. At the end of the game, players count the money from their face-up Fare cards. The player with the most money wins.

F.A.Q.

How many airplanes can fly on the same route?

There are no limits to how many airlines can fly the same route or how many flights one airline can operate on the same route.

How do you find valid itineraries?

Players look for a way to get from the origin to the destination using the network map. Priority is given to a one-stop connection within the same airline. If no non-stop or one-stop itinerary exists, players can consider two-stop, then three-stop, etc.. While Passengers can take a one-stop if a non-stop flight is offered, they will not take a two-stop itinerary if a one-stop is available.

• Example: A valid itinerary for O&D MIA-JFK could be:
• A direct flight MIA-JFK.
• A one-stop MIA-ATL-JFK if the same player operates both MIA-ATL and ATL-JFK.

Game Glossary

• O&D: Origin and Destination, representing a passenger's journey start and end points (e.g., LON-NYC).
• Itinerary: A set of flights operated on routes to transport passengers from origin to destination.
• Flight: One takeoff and landing; in-game, it is a link between two airports.
• Route: A pair of airports served by flights, such as SIN-KUL.
• 3-letter airport codes: Unique identifiers assigned by IATA for commercial airports.

Airline Insights

• Network Planning: Selecting routes, flight frequencies, and aircraft to maximize profit.
• Revenue Management: Optimizing seat availability to maximize income.
• Pricing: Setting fares dynamically based on demand, competition, and market conditions. Airline pricing is not done in real price (yet), but the game is more interactive and faster with this mechanic.
• IATA Codes: Airport and airline codes assigned for global operations.
• Seasonal Schedules: Airlines operate in summer (April-October) and winter (October-March) schedules, the IATA year starts in April.
• Narrowbody Aircraft Utilization: Airlines typically target at least 12 hours per airplane per day to run profitably. The routes selected for the game can be flown in 3 hours more or less, so flying them twice daily would result in 12h utilisation. That's why it takes one airplane to fly one route.
• Connectivity: In order to offer connections from any airport A to any airport Z via an airport H in both directions, airlines need to fly AH and HZ twice a day (for medium haul). Otherwise they need to have a crew layover that increases cost and complexity.
• Low-Cost Airlines: Budget airlines operate with reduced costs and simplified models. They don't usually offer connections but some of them do. The game is more fun with connections.

Free Online Version

Play the Africa Lite Edition for free (Only for local play on tablet)

Step by step

Set up

Place the Airport dice in turn on the airports you want to include:

Until you place 6:

The youngest player place their airplanes on the routes:

And other players do the same (note that the number of airplanes per player is different depending on how many players are involved):

Gameplay

Each player roll the Passenger Dice; the numbers give the Origin and Destination (O&D) of the travelers:

In this example, travelers want to go from 4 to 5. And both Airline Yellow and Blue can offer a valid itinerary. Yellow is non-stop and Blue is one-stop via airport 2:

There is then a Price War. Both players offer a Fare card, face down:

Cards are flipped at the same time:

The lowest price wins, but in this case since Blue airline itinerary involved one stop, it needs to be less than half the price of non-stop to win.

Yellow wins the price war! Yellow airline player places the 300 Fare card face up in front of them. It now counts as earnings. Blue airline takes the card back in hand.

Yellow airline removes the airplane that was used to fly the itinerary. It is considered full and can't be used to serve any other O&D until the end of the season: