Airline Tycoon Deluxe

About

In Airline Tycoon Deluxe, players manage their own airline, handling various aspects such as finances, fleet management, and staff hiring. The game features four different caricatured airline owners, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, adding a layer of strategy. Players must complete tasks and goals to progress, all while ensuring their airline remains profitable and efficient.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

79%

Audience ScoreBased on 484 reviews

graphics18 positive mentions

optimization4 negative mentions

The game is a nostalgic classic that many players enjoyed during their childhood, providing hours of fun and entertainment.
It features a humorous and engaging gameplay style, allowing players to manage their own airline with various quirky elements.
Despite its age, the game still holds up well in terms of gameplay mechanics and offers a unique blend of strategy and management.

The game suffers from numerous bugs and compatibility issues, particularly on modern systems like Windows 10 and 11, making it unplayable for some users.
Once players reach a certain point in the game, it can become repetitive and boring, as there is little to do beyond managing the airline.
The graphics and user interface are outdated, which may deter new players who are accustomed to modern gaming standards.

graphics
78 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
73%
4%
The graphics of the game are generally considered outdated, reflecting its 1998 release, with many users noting a cartoonish and simplistic style that may appeal to those nostalgic for 90s aesthetics. While some players experience technical issues on modern systems, others find the visuals charming and easy to run, contributing to an enjoyable gameplay experience despite the lack of modern graphical fidelity. Overall, the graphics are not a major selling point, but they do not detract significantly from the game's strategic elements.
- “Got this game for nostalgia, had played this game when I was very young and it's still one of the best airline simulations with one of the best cartoon artwork.”
- “It's a 2003 game so don't expect anything fancy, but the cartoon style graphics and smooth frame rate make this game very enjoyable to play.”
- “Beneath the cartoony graphics lies a surprisingly complex and gripping game.”
- “The graphics completely blur out for me and I cannot see where I am going.”
- “The graphics are classic 90s '3D' - which is to say, very unattractive.”
- “There is no text showing in the speech bubbles making it unplayable, and this is on Windows 7 with an AMD graphics card.”
gameplay
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
73%
8%
The gameplay is characterized by a humorous and cartoon-like style, focusing on scheduling flights and efficiently managing airport operations in real-time. While the initial campaign missions provide a fun introduction to the mechanics, players may find the gameplay repetitive and the difficulty low, with some experiencing lag due to framerate issues. Overall, the game offers a nostalgic experience, though it may not hold up to modern standards.
- “All the efforts and thought that were put into it are visible throughout the gameplay process.”
- “The core mechanic is scheduling your flights, which is an interesting and unusual puzzle, played out in real time as you run from one place in the airport to another.”
- “It has challenging gameplay and is quite humorous.”
- “I still play it every so often as I quite enjoy the nostalgia, but it probably doesn't actually hold up today gameplay-wise.”
- “The whole loop may become repetitive and tedious after the first four hours of gameplay.”
- “Like others described, there is currently an issue with very low framerate which results in laggy gameplay.”
story
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
9%
82%
9%
The story in this tycoon game revolves around managing an airline company, where players complete various missions set by an airport manager, such as building aircraft or achieving company goals. The campaign mode serves as an engaging introduction to the game's mechanics, with a variety of challenges that allow for different strategies to succeed. Players appreciate the absence of intrusive micro-transactions, and the deluxe version includes all add-on features and missions, enhancing the overall experience.
- “The earlier missions are quite fun and are a good introduction to the general gameplay.”
- “My recommendation is to play the initial campaign missions that were part of the basic game in order to get a handle on the mechanics and then dive right into sandbox mode.”
- “This is a tycoon game where you are one of the owners of an airline company; you get to choose one among four companies and complete missions where the airport manager sets a specific task as the mission goal.”
- “Unfortunately, my obsessive nature meant I felt obliged to attempt every mission, and unfortunately you can't skip any (at least on the Mac version; I believe PC has a cheat code) in order to unlock the next.”
- “I cheated my way through the missions since I was quite young to understand the full concept of managing airlines and profiting from routes.”
- “It's not difficult if you want to finish campaign mode; you need to understand the mission and trick to finish that (if you don't want to use cheats).”
humor
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is praised for its humorous tone, featuring comically goofy artwork and entertaining environments that enhance the gameplay experience. Players appreciate the blend of serious tycoon elements with a lighthearted, cartoonish style, filled with funny dialogues and quirky details that keep the game engaging and enjoyable. Overall, it stands out as a refreshing take on the tycoon genre, offering a fun and challenging experience without the usual seriousness.
- “Easy to run, comically goofy artwork and a funny game.”
- “This is not any boring, usual tycoon because it is not limited in any way to reading tons of reports, here you have to walk around the airport by yourself and interact with NPCs to take care of your business, taking part in funny dialogues and other forms of first-class humor!”
- “A very funny airline management game from Germany, you should try it ;)”
music
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
66%
9%
The music in the game is generally praised for its charming and upbeat soundtrack, which enhances the immersive atmosphere, particularly in the airport setting. However, players have reported issues with the game freezing during music transitions, and the music settings can be difficult to balance with loud sound effects. While the nostalgic MIDI compositions are appreciated, they may become repetitive for some players over time.
- “You will no doubt be charmed by the groovy soundtrack this game has to offer. I like each and every song and I can appreciate a good soundtrack to play to. The ambience in the airport is also so immersive, hearing the flight announcements, chattering, and bustling of people going on holiday and returning from holiday.”
- “As said above, the soundtrack is very charming and upbeat, definitely a good choice to have this kind of music.”
- “Wonderful game with pretty graphics and nice music.”
- “It's an old game, and plays like an old game (starting with MIDI music and ending with horrible resolution).”
- “The causes of the crash range from the music changing to just plain old coding that seems to be unfixable.”
- “The music, originally composed for MIDI format, is kind of pleasant as well (but for non-nostalgia driven players like me, it might start to annoy after some time).”
optimization
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
40%
40%
The game's optimization is widely criticized, particularly for poor performance on AMD GPUs, rendering it unplayable for many users. However, a patch exists that makes the game somewhat playable, and it runs well on low-end Intel graphics. Overall, while the game has potential as a classic management simulation, its current optimization issues detract significantly from the experience.
- “No bugs, no stuttering, no missing texts.”
- “Should the game happen to run smoothly someday, this airport manager is an excellent game and a true classic.”
- “Optimization is horrible, but there is a patch, so it's still playable.”
- “A very nice old game; apparently AMD GPUs are not supported. I have tested two different AMD GPUs, and the game performance is horrible—totally unplayable. However, I tested a very low-end Intel Celeron graphics, and it runs perfectly.”
- “If you are expecting a contemplative, optimization-focused management simulation, then don't bother with this one.”
stability
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
80%
The game is frequently criticized for its instability, with users reporting regular crashes, freezes, and various bugs, including an unchangeable resolution and graphical issues like a flashing mouse pointer. While some players note it runs well on Windows 7 x64, the overall sentiment reflects disappointment in its outdated and buggy performance.
- “Runs great under Windows 7 x64!”
- “Regularly crashes computer/freezes, unchangeable resolution, no way to change it, mouse pointer flashes black.”
- “Disappointed with the buggy mess.”
- “Fine game, but it is old and buggy.”
grinding
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, particularly after the initial hours of gameplay. Many express feelings of burnout due to the scaled contracts and padded campaign content, leading some to abandon the game despite investing significant time into it.
- “The whole loop may become repetitive and tedious after the first four hours of gameplay.”
- “I did not complete the final campaign series, which was dull, padded out, and grindy. I feel burnt out on the game in general and will uninstall for now.”
- “It has been 4 years, and in that time I've put some 70 hours into it, grinding out the fastest all-routes sustainable category.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players report a deep emotional investment in the game, with many spending over 150 hours immersed in its world, indicating a strong connection to the narrative and characters. The potential for even more engagement through sandbox play suggests that the emotional experience could be further enhanced.
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The atmosphere is characterized by a cartoonish aesthetic that contrasts with the underlying complexity of the business management simulation, creating a unique blend of lighthearted visuals and intricate gameplay mechanics.
- “Beneath the cartoonish atmosphere lies a relatively complex business management simulation.”