In OnAir, the Economy Ruleset defines how realistic and demanding your company’s financial environment will be.
It affects aircraft ownership costs, FBO management, and the payouts you receive from jobs.
By default, all players start in the Challenging Economy Ruleset, designed for realism and long-term company management.
However, you can switch to the Classic Ruleset at any time if you prefer a lighter experience.
¶ 🔴 Challenging Economy Ruleset
The Challenging ruleset is built for realism and strategy.
It introduces additional financial pressure and lower payouts to simulate real-world aviation business conditions.
¶ 💸 Fleet Management Cost
When you own more than 5 aircraft, an additional weekly cost is applied based on the number and type of aircraft in your fleet.
This simulates the increasing overhead of managing multiple aircraft.
For Virtual Airlines (VAs), this cost applies to the VA itself, not to individual members.
✈️ These costs represent background operations like ground crew, maintenance, scheduling, and administrative staff.
¶ 🏢 Weekly FBO Management Costs
When you own more than 3 FBOs, a weekly management fee is charged, depending on the total number and class of your FBOs.
This models the growing complexity and cost of managing a larger network.
💼 It’s meant to simulate the support personnel required to manage multiple FBOs.
¶ 💰 Reduced Job Payouts
Job rewards in Challenging mode are roughly three times lower than in Classic mode.
This makes profits harder to achieve and puts more emphasis on careful business planning.
⚙️ Ideal for players who want a serious economic simulation with a slower, more strategic progression.
¶ 🟢 Classic Economy Ruleset
The Classic ruleset offers a more relaxed experience.
It’s perfect for players who want to focus on flying and progression rather than managing financial constraints.
¶ ✅ Key Features
- No fleet management fees
- No FBO management costs
- Higher job payouts (about three times higher than Challenging mode)
✈️ Ideal for casual players or those who prefer faster company growth without complex financial management.
¶ ⚙️ How to change your economy ruleset
You can select or change your ruleset from the in-game preferences:
Options → Preferences → World Transfer & Economy Ruleset
💡 You can switch from Challenging to Classic at any time, but once changed, you cannot return to Challenging.
¶ ⚠️ Important
The switch from Challenging → Classic is one-way only.
This rule prevents exploit strategies (e.g. earning large profits in Classic, then switching back to Challenging).
💡 Choose your ruleset based on how realistic or relaxed you want your company’s economy to be.