Yes it is geared towards tubeliners, but I brought it into this thread because APL scores flights, scoring is the main reason I use it, and since SLC scores as well I thought people who value this element might like to see how scoring works.  Clearly the message wasn't meant for you 😉

I've knocked APL on the head for now. I've made it as far as Captain but it started becoming too samey. The final straw for me (which is something Noel mentioned before) being the frustration of the schedule generator. I tried setting up a 10 flight Medium/Long haul schedule with return flights to KJFK as a hub with American, with B738, A32NX, A339, B789 licenses, it gave me -->

KJFK - KMIA

KMIA - KJFK

KJFK - KORD

KORD - KJFK

KJFK - KMIA

KMIA - KJFK

KJFK - KLAX

KLAX - KJFK

KJFK - KDEN

KDEN - KJFK

After smashing "generate" a multitude of times I got more variations of the above with the odd KSEA or KSAN thrown in. No transatlantic or South American legs. Waste of time really. It's not as if American Airlines are short of routes.

I've moved onto flying with Star Alliance VA and set out on a world tour. The scoring system is simple and consistent and the use of real world aircraft with the correct registrations adds to the realism. The ACARS system is great and the fact that you're based out of the airport you landed at appeals to me. I love how you can deliver new aircraft in it also, for example, there's a MAX8 (REG: ET-BAN) needing delivery from Paine Field over to EIDW and onwards to HAAB where you get an extra 100% on your scoring for delivery. Not that I can deliver it with this sim yet but that kind of realism is a deal breaker for me.

TBH, if I had known the VA systems were set up this way previously I wouldn't have shelled out nearly 30 Euros for APL but oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

Edited January 13, 20242 yr by El Diablito

1 hour ago, El Diablito said:

I've knocked APL on the head for now. I've made it as far as Captain but it started becoming too samey. The final straw for me (which is something Noel mentioned before) being the frustration of the schedule generator. I tried setting up a 10 flight Medium/Long haul schedule with return flights to KJFK as a hub with American, with B738, A32NX, A339, B789 licenses, it gave me -->

KJFK - KMIA

KMIA - KJFK

KJFK - KORD

KORD - KJFK

KJFK - KMIA

KMIA - KJFK

KJFK - KLAX

KLAX - KJFK

KJFK - KDEN

KDEN - KJFK

After smashing "generate" a multitude of times I got more variations of the above with the odd KSEA or KSAN thrown in. No transatlantic or South American legs. Waste of time really. It's not as if American Airlines are short of routes.

I've moved onto flying with Star Alliance VA and set out on a world tour. The scoring system is simple and consistent and the use of real world aircraft with the correct registrations adds to the realism. The ACARS system is great and the fact that you're based out of the airport you landed at appeals to me. I love how you can deliver new aircraft in it also, for example, there's a MAX8 (REG: ET-BAN) needing delivery from Paine Field over to EIDW and onwards to HAAB where you get an extra 100% on your scoring for delivery. Not that I can deliver it with this sim yet but that kind of realism is a deal breaker for me.

TBH, if I had known the VA systems were set up this way previously I wouldn't have shelled out nearly 30 Euros for APL but oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

Just looked at the Star alliance website. Pretty limited as far as the airlines they have. No Delta, No Southwest, No American Airlines, etc. etc.  

2 hours ago, El Diablito said:

I've knocked APL on the head for now. I've made it as far as Captain but it started becoming too samey. The final straw for me (which is something Noel mentioned before) being the frustration of the schedule generator. I tried setting up a 10 flight Medium/Long haul schedule with return flights to KJFK as a hub with American, with B738, A32NX, A339, B789 licenses, it gave me -->

KJFK - KMIA

KMIA - KJFK

KJFK - KORD

KORD - KJFK

KJFK - KMIA

KMIA - KJFK

KJFK - KLAX

KLAX - KJFK

KJFK - KDEN

KDEN - KJFK

After smashing "generate" a multitude of times I got more variations of the above with the odd KSEA or KSAN thrown in. No transatlantic or South American legs. Waste of time really. It's not as if American Airlines are short of routes.

I've moved onto flying with Star Alliance VA and set out on a world tour. The scoring system is simple and consistent and the use of real world aircraft with the correct registrations adds to the realism. The ACARS system is great and the fact that you're based out of the airport you landed at appeals to me. I love how you can deliver new aircraft in it also, for example, there's a MAX8 (REG: ET-BAN) needing delivery from Paine Field over to EIDW and onwards to HAAB where you get an extra 100% on your scoring for delivery. Not that I can deliver it with this sim yet but that kind of realism is a deal breaker for me.

TBH, if I had known the VA systems were set up this way previously I wouldn't have shelled out nearly 30 Euros for APL but oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

Just to make sure - did you have the actual aircrafts you want for the schedule checked on the left side? What aircraft were scheduled for those flights? Did you try with long haul only and see if it gave you 789 flights at all?
Also you could use "random continuous", so you don't have to have KJFK in every leg, but instead get in-between sectors and flights to other hubs etc. The schedules are based on real life schedules and - since those routes are flown 10x per day, the chances are much higher to get them over a twice-a-week long haul flight. So before shelving it, I suggest:

a) Make sure the aircraft you want to fly are checked on the left side (especially those used for longer routes)
b) Use the random continuous option. This will give you a much higher variety, while still being somewhat realistic. It will also have the same effect, that you are "based" on the airport you landed the last time for every new leg.
c) Hit generate until you like it. I can take some time on those airlines that do hundreds of boring domestic flights 🙂

Star Alliance is a good and flexible VA, but as I mentioned before, I cannot do real time long haul flights, so all those VAs are not possible for me.

EDIT: I just saw you are already Captain, so I guess you know how it works, sorry I thought it was a fresh purchase.

Edited January 13, 20242 yr by Fiorentoni

19 minutes ago, Fiorentoni said:

Just to make sure - did you have the actual aircrafts you want for the schedule checked on the left side? What aircraft were scheduled for those flights? Did you try with long haul only and see if it gave you 789 flights at all?
Also you could use "random continuous", so you don't have to have KJFK in every leg, but instead get in-between sectors and flights to other hubs etc. The schedules are based on real life schedules and - since those routes are flown 10x per day, the chances are much higher to get them over a twice-a-week long haul flight. So before shelving it, I suggest:

a) Make sure the aircraft you want to fly are checked on the left side (especially those used for longer routes)
b) Use the random continuous option. This will give you a much higher variety, while still being somewhat realistic. It will also have the same effect, that you are "based" on the airport you landed the last time for every new leg.
c) Hit generate until you like it. I can take some time on those airlines that do hundreds of boring domestic flights 🙂

Star Alliance is a good and flexible VA, but as I mentioned before, I cannot do real time long haul flights, so all those VAs are not possible for me.

EDIT: I just saw you are already Captain, so I guess you know how it works, sorry I thought it was a fresh purchase.

Yes, the flights are  from FlightRadar 24 ( real airline flights)   so I don't see how  the flights can be that boring, and the schedules are updated once a month. . 

The Star Alliance VA IS part of a trilogy. There are 3 VAs run by the same person. Each one is for the major airline alliances. There aren’t any time requirements so joining all 3 is what I did. So, if you want to fly American you need to be in the Oneworld VA. 
 

Also, @Fiorentoni there are plenty of short haul routes. I am like you and anything over 2 hours is long,

As for the European airlines, vRYR (Ryanair), vEZY (Easyjet), LH Virtual, SW Virtual and others, they all are able to provide more faithful experience than APL, but at the same time are more flexible and without the limitations that the APL developer considers to be true to the "pilot's life". And another advantage is that they all run on the same software, so flying for different airlines is very easy. I have nothing against APL, but I think there are better alternatives for those who want to fly real routes as an airline pilot.

15 hours ago, Bobsk8 said:

Just looked at the Star alliance website. Pretty limited as far as the airlines they have. No Delta, No Southwest, No American Airlines, etc. etc.  

Every airline and route is represented over the 3 VAs, Bob - Star Alliance, OneWorld and SkyTeam. My plan is to do a round the world tour (roughly 50 legs) with Star Alliance and then do the same with the other 2. I'll get a huge variety of flights, get to use all the aircraft I use in the sim plus when PMDG launch the 777 and FBW release the A380 I'll add them to my schedules. All that should keep me busy during 2024!

14 hours ago, Bobsk8 said:

 so I don't see how  the flights can be that boring, and the schedules are updated once a month. . 

...that maybe so but the generator is broken and there doesn't seem to be any desire to fix it or even look at it by the developer. As I posted above, the variety for medium to long haul out of JFK should be far greater than what it was giving me. I normally used random routes and that seems to work a bit better but for HUB ops it's a waste of time. Maybe if there was an option to check for flights within the US and flights for outside the US or a mix, it would improve the generator but the 3 options it gives right now doesn't appeal to me at the moment. Again, at least we have the ability to mix and match with all the available programs. I think I found Star Alliance at the right time.

40 minutes ago, BrammyH said:

The Star Alliance VA IS part of a trilogy. There are 3 VAs run by the same person. Each one is for the major airline alliances. There aren’t any time requirements so joining all 3 is what I did. So, if you want to fly American you need to be in the Oneworld VA. 
 

Also, @Fiorentoni there are plenty of short haul routes. I am like you and anything over 2 hours is long,

Exactly, I've even got a Geneva to Zurich leg on my tour, I think it takes 40 minutes!

@Fiorentoni thanks for the reply but yeah I've been using it for months now and slowly got bored with the flight options created by the generator and I didn't want to spend money on tickets and fly them without earning cash. Caught between a rock and a hard place!

1 hour ago, El Diablito said:

Every airline and route is represented over the 3 VAs, Bob - Star Alliance, OneWorld and SkyTeam. My plan is to do a round the world tour (roughly 50 legs) with Star Alliance and then do the same with the other 2. I'll get a huge variety of flights, get to use all the aircraft I use in the sim plus when PMDG launch the 777 and FBW release the A380 I'll add them to my schedules. All that should keep me busy during 2024!

Where is Southwest Airlines listed?

2 minutes ago, Bobsk8 said:

Where is Southwest Airlines listed?

Southwest is not a part of an airline alliance and thus is not part of these VAs.

1 minute ago, BrammyH said:

Southwest is not a part of an airline alliance and thus is not part of these VAs.

Well that is what I said a few posts back, there are major airlines that are missing in this "alliance" or whatever it's called. Not very realistic. 

1 minute ago, Bobsk8 said:

Not very realistic. 

Bob,

Here is the wikipedia page that shows the members of the very real Star Alliance. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Alliance#Member_airlines_and_affiliates

This alliance exists in real life. I am having trouble finding where Southwest is on this list? Can you point it out to me?

Here are the wiki links to the other 2, very real alliances. Can you show me where Southwest is a member of those alliances?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oneworld#Member_airlines

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SkyTeam#Member_airlines

Since you are claiming that Southwesft not being in these alliances is "not realistic" I must be missing something.