Airline Pilot
Airline Pilot
is one of the jobs (and skills) available in Transport Tycoon. As an airplane pilot you will transport passengers with airplanes between various airports using Air Traffic Control (ATC). You will have to start off with a small airplane and gradually work your way up to take control of huge airliners. Like any tiered job, your pay will depend heavily on your progress within the skill.
Contents
Getting Started
Airplanes are expensive, so consider doing another job first such as Garbage Collector, Train Conductor or take a Loan. If airports are not loading while flying then enable Settings → Advanced Graphics → High Detail Streaming While Flying.
- To begin this job, as with most other jobs, you need to visit a Job Center
or have the appropriate job card and change your job to Airline Pilot. - To buy your first plane you will need to visit the LSIA Aircraft Dealership
, located on the north-western side of the airport behind the Los Santos Customs. - Once you have bought your plane, spawn it at the Aircraft Garage
and taxi to a terminal 
. At the terminal, you will be prompted to press "E" to let your passengers board the plane. Make sure to not drift outside of the boarding zone or you will be punished with a 10-minute cooldown. - After all the passengers have boarded you will now see a lighter terminal
icon. Fly to that airport (remember to use ATC) and deboard your passengers at the marked gate. After your passengers have been deboarded successfully, you will be rewarded with money and EXP Tokens, it will then automatically board new passengers that need to be transported to another airport.
Job Bonuses
To earn further Airline EXP and money from this job you may carry either Airline Meals or Complete Meals with you which will boost the rewards you receive from this job! In order to make Airline Meals, you must do Refrigerated Trucking in combination with either Fishing or Hunting to get Meat. Complete Meals can also serve as an alternative and they can be crafted in a player's home with components gathered from breaking down food in your inventory. Do note that while Complete Meals do function in the same way, they provide a much smaller bonus compared to Airline Meals.
Air Traffic Control (ATC)
Air Traffic Control (ATC) is a MANDATORY. part of using an airplane. ATC, like in the real world, is used during landing and taking off on runways to avoid air traffic collisions. ATC is not required when operating a helicopter or VTOL. As a new pilot you start with a small airplane and you must use the JET runways at the airports. Larger aircraft can only use larger MAIN and SIDE runways as they have higher speed, wingspan, and stopping distance increases.
ATC on takeoff 
Press the TAB key while in an airplane to open up the ATC menu with a list of airports. The closest airport will be marked with a green ribbon. Check if the JET runway (if available at your airport) is clear (yellow color on map), and then request takeoff before entering the runway. If you are unsure which runway is which, refer to the airport runway map on this page. Double-check if the runway has changed to a green color. If it has, you will have a few seconds to initiate takeoff on the runway. You can take off in both directions of a runway, but not sideways. If no runway is available for takeoff, you must wait for one to become available. On rare occasions the ATC system may give green light for two airplanes to takeoff at the same time.
ATC on landing 
ATC on landing is a very similar concept to takeoff. When you approach your destination airport, think of which runway best suits you. Consider your current bearing, airplane, and distance. As you start off with a small airplane, you should select the JET runway if available at your destination airport. If the runway has changed green, you have a few seconds to land your plane on the runway in both directions of a runway, but not sideways. If no runway is available, you must circle your airplane in the air until one becomes available. On rare occasions the ATC system may give green light to two airplanes to land at the same time.
Airports
You can refer to the following map for an overview of all airports with their identification codes and MAIN, SIDE and JET runways.
Airplanes
Below are the requirements and costs of all available Passenger Aircraft. The (de)boarding time depends on the Tier of your airliner. (Tier x 10 seconds).
| Name | Price | Level Requirement | Tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| $20,000 | Airline Pilot Level 1 | Tier 1 | |
| $95,000 | Airline Pilot Level 3 | Tier 2 | |
| $320,000 | Airline Pilot Level 6 | Tier 3 | |
| $580,000 | Airline Pilot Level 10 | Tier 4 | |
| $950,000 | Airline Pilot Level 15 | Tier 5 | |
| $1,250,000 | Airline Pilot Level 20 | Tier 6 | |
| $1,820,000 | Airline Pilot Level 30 | Tier 7 | |
| $2,500,000 | Airline Pilot Level 45 | Tier 8 | |
| $3,200,000 | Airline Pilot Level 60 Cargo Pilot Level 20 |
Tier 9 | |
| $15,000,000 | Airline Pilot Level 75 Cargo Pilot Level 50 |
Tier 10 |
Milestones
| Unlock | Airline Pilot Level requirement |
|---|---|
| You can now use the Vestra | 1 |
| You can now use the Velum | 3 |
| You can now use the Nimbus | 6 |
| You can now use the Shamal | 10 |
| You can now use the Luxor | 15 |
| You can now use the Ghawar | 20 |
| You can now use the Miljet | 30 |
| You can now use the Miljet Mk. II | 45 |
| You can now use the Imperial Yard (also needs Cargo Pilot lvl 20) |
60 |
| You can now use the W-575 (also needs Cargo Pilot lvl 50) |
75 |
| Airports passive zone is turned off | 100 |
Airport Runway Maps
[LSIA] - Los Santos International Airport
[SSIA] - Sandy Shores International Airport
[CIA] - Chumash Island Airport
[SCA] - San Chianski Airport
[ZMA] - Zancudo Military Airport
[POA] - Pacific Ocean Airport
[MGA] - Mount Gordo Airport
[PBA] - Paleto Bay Airport
[SAN] - Sandy Shores Airfield
[MKA] - McKenzie Airfield
[CV] - Aircraft Carrier
[POP] - PostOp Airport
[CPA] - Cayo Perico Airfield
Trivia
- Since the changelog of 16 July 2019 it is no longer possible to Co-pilot. Co-piloting was a feature where a passenger was able to earn vouchers and money just by sitting in the passenger seat (while still pressing "E" at terminals). They even received a Copiloting bonus.
