You can choose between Classic and Challenging economy rulesets in Thunder and Stratus worlds.
Here’s how they differ:
Designed for realism and long-term management, this ruleset introduces additional financial pressure and reduced job payouts.
- Fleet Management Cost
To emulate the increasing overheads from managing a fleet, when you own more than 5 aircraft an additional cost will be charged weekly depending on the number and types of aircraft in the fleet.
For virtual airlines this cost is applied to the virtual airline itself, not to individual members who happen to have access to those aircraft.
This is intended to be a representation of the costs associated with the extra background staff needed to manage a fleet. E.g. Ground crew, weather handling, accountants, etc.
- Weekly FBO Management Costs
To emulate the increasing cost/overheads of FBO management, when you own more than 3 FBOs, an additional weekly fee based around your total number and class of FBOs will be charged. This is a representation of all the staff working in the background to manage the FBOs.
- Reduced Job Payouts
Job rewards are significantly lower than in Classic mode — on average, about 3 times less.
A more relaxed experience focused on flying and progression without heavy economic pressure.
- No fleet management fees
- No FBO management costs
- Job payouts are significantly higher than in Challenging mode
Once you switch to Classic, you cannot return to Challenging, to avoid exploit strategies (e.g. earning big in Classic, then switching back).