Medium Haul Checklist

While many don't notice it, Medium Haul operations and Short Haul operations is two very different things altogether. Its a bit like how a baby learns to move around - they start to crawl, before they learn how to walk, and then, run. Skipping a huge portion of Short Haul operations in favour of Medium Haul would basically be trying to run before learning how to walk, using the baby analogy. In a rush to gain "good" money, most players make the (often fatal) mistake of trying to rush towards Medium Haul airlines, only to realise that they stumble onto a lot of roadblocks, and even suffer from huge losses in spite of the huge revenues such flights bring about. This article will aim to explain the huge differences between Short Haul and Medium Haul, and provide a checklist of items we believe you should prepare before working on Medium Haul operations.

## Differences between Short Haul and Medium Haul

While Short Haul Airlines are mostly low profit, these airlines also have very little demands, and are much easier to please as compared to Medium Haul Airlines. They also cost very little to operate - this is mainly because a Short Haul flights has lesser passengers on average, while a Medium Haul flights may require higher level services and shops in order to cater to the airline and its passengers.

As you can see from the table above, Short Haul flights and Medium Haul flights have much higher demands. They don't use some of the cheaper terminal services like the Automated Gate and the Self Check-in, and require dedicated Medium Haul ramps and Stair Trucks. Medium Haul planes also carry more passengers, and therefore requires your terminal shops to be able to process more passengers to fulfill their needs.

One main issue many players face in transitioning from Short Haul to Medium Haul is the impact on their repairs. As they increase the number of ramps (General Aviation, Short Haul, or Medium Haul), more planes are using the taxiway, runway and aprons, and this will lead to an increase in the apron wear in the airport. Medium Haul airlines also have a much larger wear as compared to Short Haul planes - so repair costs will increase significantly if no investment is made on the asphalt.

Another main issue is the objectives - with more passengers (especially on the two Medium Haul starter airlines, Worldwide and Skyways), you would need more shops and/or a faster processing speed to allow all the passengers to satisfy their needs. Some of the airlines passengers would also want an improvement in processing speed - this means opening up more security counters and check-in gates for them.

## A checklist for Medium Haul operations

On our support discord (the link to which you can find on the main page), a few experienced players have been collating a non-exhaustive checklist on some of the things one would need to have before getting their first medium haul flight. This list is non-exhaustive, and some players would have a preference to do more than what is listed below. Remember that you cannot be over-prepared for the operations, possibly only under-prepared, so more will help to make the transition better for you. It is recommended that the checklist below be done **in order**.

**Post-1.02 update:** Due to the level 20 requirement to unlock the catering building, it is highly recommended for players to wait until level 22-25 (or having around 100-200 mil additional cash on hand) to consider starting MH. This is is because the catering building will need many expensive upgrades in order to service these Medium Haul flights.

* Build/Upgrade more Check-in/Double Check-in
* Build/Upgrade Security Processing
* Maximum Line Markings (for better taxi speed at night)
* Taxiway Flux Upgrade (to avoid congestion in the one lane, double-direction taxiway to the terminal)
* Medium Haul Ramps
* Build/Upgrade the Single and Double Boarding Desks for the Ramps
* Build/Upgrade stores to process pax quickly
* Inspection vehicle data should be upgraded to 1800
* Fuel Storage should be increased (~50k capacity is ideal here)
* Fuel Vehicle and Fuel Station Pump Rates to cater to 600-700 fuel at minimum
* Catering Capacity and Stock Upgrades
* Catering Vehicle Level Upgraded to cater to 300 food at minimum
* Rapid Exit for SH Upgrade (Taxiway)
* Passport Checkpoints (2-3)
* Upgrades to asphalt, wear resistances for ramps, taxiway and runway (not necessary maximum, but a decent amount is recommended especially for the taxiway and runway -- this should be around 1/3 - half of the upgrades done)
* More service vehicles, and therefore, Vehicle Depots (1 service vehicle of each type per ramp is recommended)
* Stair trucks and Pushback trucks (1 stair truck per MH ramp, and 1 pushback truck for every 2-3 ramps. Note that you have one pushback truck given to you by default)
* Belt loaders
* MH Upgrade for Runway
* Money for ATC Tower

It is estimated that such costs would range around 50-70 million in the current patch. This is a rough estimate, and it might differ depending on whether you are opting for a full 6 MH ramp operation, or mixing in some of the event airlines/higher tier SH airlines in a 3 SH 4 MH ramp operation)

For the bare minimum, you should also be completed (ie. Finished the Airline Pass and reached 1000 relationship) with Fast Travel, Glück Airlines and Air Odýsseia, and should be midway through Prosperity Lines and one of POP or Outback.