I have over 500 hours on VATSIM, with advanced rating, looking to join virtual airline with maximum emphasis on realism. Checkrides, SOPs, real routes, real-life pilots etc. etc. I would like to progress from CRJ to A220 to A320, flying regional and short- to medium-haul US routes based out of East Coast. 

I am trying to decide between deltava.org ,  united-virtual.com and vacanada.org. All three has been around for long time, emphasizing SOPs and checkrides. All three use CRJ and A320. 

Delta has the largest route network, has A220 (which I am interested in) and seems to be most active.

United is similar, offers VATSIM hours credit toward seniority and most "realistic" for me, since I fly it as passenger in RL. No A220.

Canada Air also has A220 and seems to have the most modern website, but smallest number of routes. It also seems to be more casual (which is a drawback for me). 

If someone who has experience with either of those airlines, your feedback would be greatly appreciated. 

 

Edited June 7, 20251 yr by Hurs_Sokira

I have experience in UA Virtual. When i was there, the forums were OK and chatter was OK (not great). The SOPs and documentation felt good to me as I like order and structure. As a person on the East Coast (NJ), the variety of flights was great as well. You can also rebid to other hubs that IRL UAL has. I did my regionals out of SFO for example.

In reading your post, it seems the A220 is a big deal for you. If that's the case I'd try DL virtual. Also, in reading the list of fleets around the world, JetBlue has a pretty good amount of A220s, have you considered them (if there is a JetBlue virtual)?

A220 is not that big of a deal, considering that ETA for it is Q4 2025 at the earliest. Quality of forums and chatter is not that important, I am looking for the quality of documentation and procedures, as I will be working toward VATSIM P4 ATPL rating. 

On 6/7/2025 at 6:00 PM, Hurs_Sokira said:

looking to join virtual airline with maximum emphasis on realism. Checkrides, SOPs, real routes, real-life pilots etc. etc.

I'll be honest and question whether any of them are going to be acceptable to you (and I say this being a member of one for a very long time). The challenge is that wanting a very strict adherence to realism is a very, very niche audience and too small to be successful long-term.

I think you can enjoy yourself at any of the three, but I just want to set expectations. You're not going to see strict SOPs, and while real world pilots are at all three, 99% of the members are not. What are your deal-breakers?

Cheers

I understand that going for "100% realism" is not feasible. Nobody expects virtual airline members to bid for next month's schedule based on seniority or wait several years just to get the right seat on a widebody. 

For most people looking for a virtual airline, "dealbreaker" would be a mandatory checkride just to progress from a regional jet to a narrowbody. 99% want to buy a plane and fly it right away. For me, the checkride would be an attraction. I guess I am 1%er, but I like to take my hobbies seriously, like I do my real job. I would actually prefer a real-world pilot confirm that I am using the aircraft the way it meant to be used. 

I would like to join a VA that would help me to improve my flying, using real-world training and flying procedures. What is the point of having sim add-ons from Fenix or PMDG that accurately simulate most of the real-world systems, if we not going to learn to simulate the real-world procedures to use those systems?

I am aware that both deltava.org and united-virtual.com have checkrides and SOPs, but both are members-only, so it is hard to get a feel how they are implemented prior to joining. All things being equal, I think swavirtual.com would be an ideal fit for me (since they offer VATSIM P4 ATPL rating), but they are 100% Boeing and I want to fly Airbus.

TL;DR I am looking for the Airbus equivalent of swavirtual.com