Air Bucks
| Industry | Video game development |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | United Kingdom |
| Products | Air Bucks |
| Parent | Sierra Entertainment |
Air Bucks is a business simulation game released in 1992 by Impressions Games and published under the Sierra Entertainment label. The gameplay revolves around managing an airline company beginning operations in 1946. In 1993, an upgraded edition titled Air Bucks v1.2 was launched for the Amiga platform.
Gameplay
Players take control of the airline "Air Bucks," headquartered in Miami, competing against three computer-controlled opponents. Initially, players obtain landing rights at airports located within approximately 1,000 miles, corresponding to the range of the starting aircraft, the Douglas DC-3. These rights are commonly acquired first in major hubs such as New York or Washington D.C., with a maximum of two airlines permitted per airport.
While waiting for landing rights—which takes one month at the beginning and extends later—players have the opportunity to purchase aircraft and configure seating arrangements between first class and coach sections. Once landing rights are secured, players can create flight routes, set ticket prices for each class, and assign planes accordingly. Adjustments to pricing and onboard services can be made continuously to optimize profitability.
As the game advances, players gain access to newer airplanes including models like the Douglas DC-6, Boeing 747, and Aérospatiale Concorde. The demand system incorporates factors such as ticket costs, aircraft speed, destination population size, plane age, service quality (influenced by employee salary levels), advertising expenditures, maintenance budgets affecting reliability, among other elements. Fuel price changes reflect historical inflation trends, while weather conditions and labor strikes may cause temporary airport closures.
The default AI competitors are named "Transglobal Inc," "International GT," and "Great Times." Players have the flexibility to customize the number of participants, company identities, logos, starting cities, and difficulty settings.
Reception
The initial review by Computer Gaming World was unfavorable toward Air Bucks, highlighting issues with its user interface, sluggish gameplay in version 1.0, as well as subpar AI behavior and economic modeling. In response to this feedback, Impressions Games released version 1.2 in 1993 as a "New Air Bucks!" featuring enhanced VGA graphics, an improved interface, refined AI routines, and a more robust economic system. This update was provided free of charge to registered users as a demonstration of the developer’s commitment to customer satisfaction.
Represented cities
The game includes 128 airport locations distributed across major global regions: Australia (6 airports); New Zealand (2); South Pacific (8); Asia (25); Africa (7); Europe (33); Greenland and Bermuda (1 each); Latin America (14); Canada (5); and the United States (26). While smaller technical stop points like Wake Island and Gander are part of the network, some significant cities such as Dubai, Casablanca, Tel Aviv, and Brisbane are notably absent. The game also exhibits minor geographical inaccuracies—for example, it lists both "Fiji" near Nouméa, New Caledonia, and "Nandi" (Nadi International Airport), which is Fiji’s primary airport.
With a restriction allowing only two airlines per airport to obtain landing rights, competition is fierce for key markets and initial technical stop locations before aircraft develop trans-oceanic capabilities.