Aircraft

Aircraft can either make you lots of money, or can cost you lots of money. However, aircraft can't do everything; they can't carry water or oil, and their capacity is smaller when carrying any other cargo besides passengers. Trains can do a much better job, even though they might be slower. Aircraft have varying effectiveness due to speed and operating costs.

There are three types of aircraft: Small, Large, and Helicopter.

Small aircraft have small capacities, and some of them can't travel that fast. Nevertheless, it's a good place to start your business as the are cheap to buy and operate.

Large aircraft have much larger capacities than smaller ones, and some can travel faster than the speed of sound (aka supersonic). These are best used in airports with large loads of passengers/cargo over long distances.

Helicopters have smaller capacities than the other two, and are slow. They are useful for reaching remote places with small room (an island). However, they can't be replaced after 2050 unless you have "Never expire vehicles" turned on.

Unless you have crashes turned off, all planes will have a 0.07% chance of crashing.

Airports
There are four classes of airports: Small, Large, Hub, and Helicopter.

Large Aircraft can land on Small class airports, however there is a small chance (5% every landing) that the aircraft will crash from the short runway. These planes can still crash, even if crashes are turned off! A crash will block all departing and arriving flights, and reducing the income of those flights. This is extremely detrimental to small airports, due to the lack of a second useable runway. Airports with crashes on them can't be destroyed.

When replacing an airport, close the airport in the airport description tab by clicking on the airport (not the hangars!). This will prevent aircraft to land and not waste time trying to find an opening. Clear out the area needed for the new airport you wish to replace, destroy the old one, and replace it. Try not to move the airport too far off from its original place, or you will have to reschedule every single plane that goes to that airport. If done correctly, you should now have a new airport, with the same name tag as before. If it doesn't have the same name tag, you will have to re-assign all schedules! Make sure the tag is the same color as it was before, and not a gray one floating around (this means that you messed up), before you continue on. If necessary, you can pause the game to get a better view before changing them.

Notes for below: Aircraft use terminals, Helicopters use '''helipads. Catchment area''' is the range of what goods can be picked up at that station.

Small Airports
Small airports take up less room than other airports. However, they only allow small aircraft and helicopters to land without risk. They are also quiet, if you are playing with noise limitations. They can't take a lot of aircraft at once, due to the lack of a second runway.

Small
Small Airports are the first available in the game, as soon as the first plane in 1928 comes out. This is the smallest airport, which makes it useful in areas where size matters. This airport is prone to traffic as the runway is the only way to taxi planes to/from the terminals, loading zone and hangar, and to and from landing and takeoff. It is highly recommended that you replace it with a larger sized airport as soon as possible.

This airport can be subjected to the Zeppelin Disaster which can block the runway for 6 months, causing many delays. Don't forget that big planes can crash on the runway (5% every time it lands). If a plane does happen to crash, you might want to ground all other planes that go to the airport (if you have little cash to spare, or have a small fleet) or at least try to send nearby aircraft to the hangars.

This airport will be available until 1959, unless you have expiration turned off. All other airports will remain forever.

Commuter
Commuter Airports are a good alternative to Small airports when room is needed. They are designed to manage a small number of planes, like in a small town. Even though they are larger than the Small Airport, they can still have large airports crash (again, 5% every time) when landing. More planes can be processed in this airport than the City Airport due to the shorter times it takes to taxi the planes to and from the runways.

Interestingly, two Commuter Airports can handle more traffic than an International one. Unfortunately, large airplanes can't safely land on these airports, so rules out using just Commuter Airports.

Unlike the Small, City, and Metropolitan airports, the Commuter Airport has two designated helipads, so they won't delay incoming planes by landing on a taxiway.

Since there is only one runway, crashes can be a hassle to manage, and planes will be stuck in queue trying to take off or land. Thankfully, crashes may not be that time consuming, due to the short taxing times on and off the runway.

Large Airports
Large airports can handle large aircraft without risk. They do take up more up more space than smaller airports, and may take some effort to place inside a busy town.

City
City Airports were also known as the Large Airport in the original TTD. It can handle some traffic, but the one runway makes the amount of planes processed drop very steeply. If a plane goes into the hangar (maintenance, sent back, etc.), it may take a long time before they can move out to their destination. This airport can easily be swamped by lots of arrivals, especially if there is a helicopter. All helicopters will land in the center of the taxiways (or the "x"), causing more delays to landing and departing planes. Again, like the previous two airports, crashes will greatly mess up the schedule of planes, both grounded and in the air.

This is the first airport that can handle large aircraft, the first one being the FFP Dart. However, this requires the runways to be longer, and the noise level increased. Another benefit is that a helicopter and a plane can land simultaneously, as the helicopter won't land on the runway, but rather, were the taxiways intersect. This can be both a good thing, and a bad thing, like mentioned above. If possible (e.g. the airport only has small aircraft using it), try to replace your City Airports with Commuter airports.

Metropolitan
Metropolitan Airports are a small upgrade from the City airport. They have two runways, the right one for landing, and the left one for takeoff. This allows this airport to process more planes than City Airports. Even though there are two runways, landing aircraft still have to cross a runway to get to the terminals, rendering a departing aircraft unable to move until it is cleared. This problem is fixed with the International airport.

Like the City airport, helicopters will land in the middle of the airport, causing delays to incoming/outgoing flights. Also note that because each runway is used separately for arrivals and departures, crashes can still be a problem.

Hub Airports

Hub airports can handle large amounts of aircraft, but they can still be overloaded with very large amounts of aircraft, although that may be very hard to do with the Intercontinental Airport.

International
International Airports are the second largest airport in the game. There are two runways, but unlike the Metropolitan Airport, they're located on opposite ends. This allows for less delay when there is a crash on the landing side. The two hangars can have more aircraft serviced, and may or may not have to travel a far distance. There are even Helipads so helicopter delays don't need to happen anymore!

This airport is best replacing airports that are used for high amounts of passenger and goods/material transport. This allows for more planes to be serviced and can generate more income.

Intercontinental
Intercontinental Airports are the largest airport in the game so far. They have 2 sets of runways on either end of them, as well as two helipads, allowing for even more planes to enter and leave. Planes will typically take off on the same side they landed on, unless it is crowded. There are eight terminals, allowing for lots of planes to load/unload at a time. However, this causes the airport to take up a lot of room, and generate lots of nose.

All planes can land safely, but don't forget that there is still a small risk of them crashing. If crashes do happen to block both runways, it will only be a small delay; airplanes will be able to land after they are cleared off.

To make the most use of an Intercontinental Airport, it is recommended that you have at least 15-20 planes that have the airport on it's route (not all of them have to be on the same route). Any less, and it won't be effective. Any more than 30+ and you'll clog the skies around it.

Helicopter Airports

These airports will not be available after 2050, so keep that in mind when designing your system. They don't take up much room, and can be put in the middle of a city due to its low noise.

Heliport
Heliports are a good way to keep helicopters away from your small and large airports. They're cheap, and small, which makes them usable in places like crowded cities or stranded islands. Unfortunately, only one helicopter can land and load/unload at a time, which can be a problem if the Heliport is overwhelmed. It is recommended you have at most 2 (or 3 if it is far away from the previous stop, or there are a lot of orders) helicopters going to the heliport. This can't be next to another airport, since the game won't let you (to avoid confusion in the tracking system).

Helidepot
Helidepots combine a Heliport with a hangar. It allows you to buy helicopters right there (if you were only using helicopters) without using a lot of space. Helicopters can also be maintenanced here, and don't have to go to an airport and waste time. Like the Heliport, it is recommended you have at most 2 or 3 helicopters on the route with a helidepot at a time.

They are only slightly bigger than a Heliport, so you could replace them, if you had room.

Helistation
Helistations are the larger variant of a helidepot. They can hold two more planes, which can lead to more processing. If you have connecting Helistations, it is recommended that you have multiples of three on the route, as they will land and take off three at a time. You can connect these to Heliports, like connecting an International Airport to more Metropolitan Airports.

Trivia

 * If all of the airports in an aircraft's schedule is removed, they will head to the nearest one available. If there are no more, that are opened, they will all explode in the air. Unlike destroyed aircraft on a runway, you can build on the tiles that the remains are on.
 * Some aircraft, such as the Yate Haugan, resemble modern aircraft (The Concorde).
 * Other aircraft are completely fictional, futuristic designs (such as the Kelling K2).