Why Mayday Control exists

🔊 Hear why we built this

Mayday Control isn't just a game — it's meant to put you in the seat of the people who actually run an airline. Every decision mirrors one made for real, every single day, across the industry: the CEO weighing expansion against risk, the COO keeping a fleet reliable without bleeding cash, maintenance engineers and dispatchers managing MELs and Airworthiness Directives under pressure, revenue managers watching what rivals are doing at a shared hub, and network planners deciding where a new route actually makes sense.

If you're thinking about a career in aviation, we hope this sparks real curiosity about the industry's complexity and the problem-solving it demands. If you already work in aviation, we hope it's a fun, honest reflection of just how many moving parts — literal and figurative — go into keeping an airline in the air.

Overview

2–4 players (human or AI) each run a competing airline on a shared global route map. Buy routes, grow your fleet, keep it flying, and out-compete the others to win.

Where to start

New to Mayday Control? Read The basics first, then the tab for the level you want to play. Each level has its wheel odds, worked scenarios and tips. You can open this guide at any time during a game with the ? button at the top.

Finding your way around

Everything you need is in the bar along the top of the game. These are the buttons, and what each one does:

Tap the lightbulb whenever you are unsure what to do next. It reads your airline's current position and suggests a sensible next step, for example "One of your aircraft has no route and is earning nothing. Assign it a route." The line of text under the top bar also guides you step by step during your turn, and it is spoken aloud when the voice is on.

Tournaments

We plan to hold a Mayday Control tournament each quarter. Dates, format and entry details are still to be announced. Tournaments are for fun and recognition. Dollar amounts in the game are score-keeping only, not real money. Watch the home page for the announcement.

Credits

The 3D globe is built with globe.gl by Vasco Asturiano, three-globe and three.js, all open source under the MIT License. Earth imagery: Blue Marble, courtesy of NASA. Full notices are in LICENSES.txt.

The goal

Run an airline better than your rivals. You win by reaching $9,000,000 in cash first, by Dominance (a connected network of 10+ hub-to-hub routes across 3+ continents, 3+ aircraft, the whole fleet airworthy, held for 3 turns in a row), or by being the last airline standing.

A turn in four steps

1. Spend up to 2 actions: buy a route, an aircraft or a spare part, repair an open MEL, assign a route to an aircraft, or trade.
2. Fly: pick an aircraft and press Fly. Flying costs no action. The event wheel decides how the flight goes.
3. Read the result: the wheel slows to a stop, the status board under it flips to the outcome (for example CLEAN 100% or MEL-B 50%), and then the revenue, fees and any MEL or AD card appear.
4. Your turn ends after the flight, so do your buying and repairs first. Press Fly all assigned aircraft to send your whole fleet at once, or End this turn to pass without flying.

Prices at a glance

An extra aircraft costs $400,000 and a spare part $50,000. A grounded aircraft costs $50,000 every turn. Clearing a MEL needs a spare part and the aircraft at an MRO station. Because MRO access is so valuable, routes that touch an MRO station cost 50% more, and choosing an MRO city as your home base costs a one-time $150,000 (your aircraft can then be repaired at home).

What the wheel can do

Each slice carries a symbol (A, B and C for the MEL category, a bolt for a storm, AD, and a plane for a clean flight), and the status board under the wheel spells out the result, like an airport departures board.

• White, clean flight: 100% of the route's pay.
• Green, MEL-C: 50% pay until you repair it.
• Yellow, MEL-B: 50% pay and same-continent routes only until repaired.
• Red, MEL-A: aircraft grounded, no pay, $50,000 every turn until repaired.
• Blue, thunderstorm: held at the airport for a turn, $50,000 fee.
• Black, AD: diverted to the nearest MRO station, $50,000 clearing fee, no pay.

Setting up

Every airline begins with $1,000,000 and a single widebody jet. On your first turn, click any city on the globe to set it as your home base, then pick the destination of your first route. It is bought for you and given to your aircraft at once, so you can fly right away.

Growing your fleet

A single aircraft can only earn so much. Buy additional aircraft, assign each one a route, and use "Fly all assigned aircraft" to send your whole fleet out in one click each turn rather than flying planes one at a time.

Building your network

There's no fixed set of routes — you design your airline's network. The map has about 46 major hubs (shown in capital letters on the globe and marked ★ in the city lists). Any two hubs can be linked, as long as they're within an aircraft's range of roughly 14,000 km. Every other city is a regional city: it can only be linked to a hub within about 1,500 km (or, for the most remote cities, to the nearest hub).

Distance sets a route's class — short (up to 1,500 km), medium (up to 4,100 km) or long — and with it the price to buy it and the most it can earn per flight. When you pick a destination, the list shows each option's distance and cost.

Hub feed

Real airlines work the same way, a model called hub-and-spoke: short regional flights carry passengers into a hub, where they connect onto long-haul flights. A long flight between two hubs is only as full as the passengers feeding it. A hub-to-hub flight earns 50% of its normal revenue if you have no regional routes at the hub it departs from, rising to 100% once you own 4 of them. Each direction is measured at its own departure hub, so a route needs feeders at both ends to be full both ways. The routes that count are short links from the hub to nearby regional cities, and they cost far less than the long flights they fill. Regional routes themselves aren't affected. The game points out an under-fed hub the first time it costs you money, shows each route's feed percentage when you assign an aircraft, and the lightbulb tip suggests the cheapest route to fix it.

Hub competition

Routes themselves stay exclusive — only one airline can own a given city pair. But if a rival operates any route touching one of your endpoints, your revenue there is diluted, compounding with each additional rival present. Buying into a city a leader depends on is a real way to slow them down, not just grow your own network.

Repairs & spare parts

A shared bank of 40 spare parts serves every airline in the game. To clear an open MEL you need two things: a spare part from your own inventory, and the aircraft at an MRO station. Each repair clears one MEL (the worst first). The part you fitted goes to overhaul and comes back to your own stock 3 rounds later, so a part you have bought is not lost for good, but the bank of 40 does run low. MELs can stack, and the worst one sets what the aircraft may do. A grounded aircraft can only fly toward an MRO, one route at a time; if none of your routes lead to an MRO it is stuck and can only be sold. An aircraft with a MEL-B that cannot fly its international route can buy a domestic route to an MRO and fly there. MRO stations are marked on the map and in the city lists, and are also where Airworthiness Directives force a diversion to.

Trading

Trade routes, aircraft, or spare parts with another player for an agreed cash price. Selling an aircraft works as an offer: post an asking price and each rival can accept, counter or pass. The best offer is then shown and the buyers get 20 seconds of live bidding (after a 3-second countdown) to outbid each other (a bid in the last 10 seconds puts the clock back to 10), then you pick the buyer or keep the aircraft. Computer airlines pay less for an aircraft with open MELs.

Bankruptcy

If your cash goes negative and you have no routes, aircraft, or parts left to sell off to cover it, your airline is eliminated.

Helpful tools

Tap the lightbulb icon (💡) any time for a contextual strategy tip based on your current situation. Click a route name (such as BOG-GRU) in the fleet table to see what share of that route's maximum revenue it is earning, why it falls short, and what to buy to earn more. Click the Cash gauge (one ring per airline, filling toward the win amount) or the Parts gauge (one tick per spare part, colored by who holds it) for a bigger window with the details. The chart icon next to the gauges opens a window showing every airline's cash over time and where each is headed if its network stays as it is; its Progress report button opens a full report of the game so far (standings, cash by round, where the money went, key moments) that you can save as a PDF or download as a spreadsheet, at any point, not only at the end. On the globe, each route's moving dashes show the direction of its last flight, and the globe sits in a star sky: the Sun is where the real Sun is right now, so the day and night sides of the Earth match the real time of day. Major events — lead changes, hot streaks, hub competition, Dominance progress — get an on-screen announcement with spoken audio, while AD diversions and under-fed hubs open a pop-up that waits for you, and the full event/flight log on the right tracks everything that's happened in the game.

Playing online with friends

Mayday Control can be played online, each player on their own screen, with AI airlines filling any empty seat. Use online rooms on the home page (you need a free account).

• Who needs a membership: Every level, Easy included, gives you one free game, and you do not need an account to play it. After that you need a free account and an active membership. Online rooms always need a free account. Friends you invite to a member's room can play one game free.
• Turn time limit: the host picks 1 hour, 24 hours (the default) or 3 days. The room bar at the bottom shows the time left. A player who runs out of time is out of business, and the last airline standing wins.
• Room alerts: active members can get an email when someone opens a public room. It is off until you turn it on, from the home page window or your account settings, and every email has a link to switch it off.
• Turn alerts: press Turn alerts in the room bar to allow notifications. You also get a chime and a flashing tab if you are away when your turn starts.
• STAR deals (Medium and Hard): every player places a private sealed bid at the same time. Then the highest bid is shown and every bidder gets 20 seconds of live bidding to beat it, after a 3-second countdown. A bid in the last 10 seconds puts the clock back to 10 seconds, so the highest bid wins, not the best-timed one. The highest bid at zero wins.
• Leaving: Resign in the room bar takes your airline out of business while the others play on. If the host leaves, the host role passes to the next player. The host can also use End game to close the room for everyone.
• Players under 18 can only use private rooms.

Scenarios

Tips for every level

• Build regional routes around your hubs before you buy long routes: they are cheap and they fill the long flights.
• Keep at least one spare part and a cash cushion of about $100,000 per aircraft.
• Add a second aircraft once your first earns reliably, then give each one its own route.
• Use the lightbulb for a tip about your exact situation and the chart icon to see where every airline is headed.
• Click a route name in the fleet table to see why it earns less than its maximum.

Quick Start: a game in about 15 minutes

The short version of the game, made for a first try or a short session. You begin with a route out of your home base already laid and flown by your first aircraft, so your first turn already has something to do. The first airline to reach $3,000,000 in cash wins. The wheel is the same as Easy (clean flights about 8 times in 10), there are no STAR auctions or fuel prices, and the AI airlines play cautiously. Like every level, Quick Start includes one free game.

Scenario: a 15-minute game

Tips

• Fly every turn. Idle aircraft earn nothing, and this game is short.
• Buy a second aircraft early: it is the biggest boost to your income.
• Keep one spare part in reserve for a surprise grounding.
• When you want a longer game, with repairs, rivals and auctions, move up to Easy, Medium or Hard.

Easy: learn the game

The simple version: no STAR auctions and no fuel prices. Problems are rare and the AI airlines play cautiously, so you can concentrate on building a hub-and-spoke network. A built-out 4-aircraft network typically reaches the target in about 13 turns.

Scenario: your first five turns

Tips

• Expand fast. Cash sitting unused earns nothing and Easy punishes mistakes very lightly.
• Practise hub feed: four regional routes at a hub make your hub-to-hub flights pay 100%.
• Try for Dominance: with so few groundings it is the quickest route to a win.
• When you feel comfortable, move up to Medium for repairs, rivals and STAR auctions.

Medium: a real airline

A steady mix of repair bills, groundings and surprises, plus STAR deals. A built-out 4-aircraft network typically needs about 28 turns. No fuel prices.

How STAR auctions work

From round 3, an announcement may appear between rounds: a sponsorship or supplier contract. Every airline places a sealed bid (minimum $5,000, or pass). Then the highest bid is shown and there are 20 seconds of live bidding (after a 3-second countdown): anyone can raise ($1,000 or more above the leader). Computer airlines answer up to a hidden limit. A bid in the last 10 seconds puts the clock back to 10 seconds, so nobody can win by bidding at the last moment. When the clock reaches zero, the highest bid wins and pays it. A deal can be held up to 2 at a time.

• Co-brand credit card: +5% on every route, 10 turns. Safe and steady.
• Corporate exclusivity: +10% on hub-to-hub routes, 6 turns. Cancelled if an aircraft is grounded for 2 of your turns in a row.
• Belly cargo: +15% on long routes, 6 turns. A storm or AD on a long flight costs $25,000.
• Tour operator block-space: one extra regional route at every hub, 8 turns.
• Alliance: +15% on routes touching one named hub, 6 turns. Worthless if you don't fly there.
• Government mail: $30,000 at the start of each of your turns for 8 turns, if an aircraft is flying.
• PMA parts: spare parts cost $35,000 instead of $50,000 for 8 turns, but each fitted part has a 15% chance of failing.

Scenario: should you bid?

Tips

• Hold a reserve before bidding: a STAR bid you cannot afford leaves you short when a Red appears.
• Keep two spare parts. Groundings are common enough that waiting costs $50,000 a turn.
• Exclusivity is risky if your fleet is thin: one long grounding cancels it. Cargo is best when your network is mostly long routes.
• Government mail is the safest income: it pays whatever the wheel does.

Hard: only a sharp airline survives

The same event wheel as Medium, the same STAR auctions (described below), plus fuel prices that swing every round. Fuel is what makes Hard hard: a price spike can wipe out a round's profit, so hedging well matters. A built-out 4-aircraft network needs about 28 turns on average, but fuel can speed that up or set it back a long way.

How STAR auctions work

From round 3, an announcement may appear between rounds: a sponsorship or supplier contract. Every airline places a sealed bid (minimum $5,000, or pass). Then the highest bid is shown and there are 20 seconds of live bidding (after a 3-second countdown): anyone can raise ($1,000 or more above the leader). Computer airlines answer up to a hidden limit. A bid in the last 10 seconds puts the clock back to 10 seconds, so nobody can win by bidding at the last moment. When the clock reaches zero, the highest bid wins and pays it. A deal can be held up to 2 at a time.

• Co-brand credit card: +5% on every route, 10 turns. Safe and steady.
• Corporate exclusivity: +10% on hub-to-hub routes, 6 turns. Cancelled if an aircraft is grounded for 2 of your turns in a row.
• Belly cargo: +15% on long routes, 6 turns. A storm or AD on a long flight costs $25,000.
• Tour operator block-space: one extra regional route at every hub, 8 turns.
• Alliance: +15% on routes touching one named hub, 6 turns. Worthless if you don't fly there.
• Government mail: $30,000 at the start of each of your turns for 8 turns, if an aircraft is flying.
• PMA parts: spare parts cost $35,000 instead of $50,000 for 8 turns, but each fitted part has a 15% chance of failing.

How fuel works

• Fuel has a market price index (1.00 is normal, $5,000 a unit; one unit flies about 1,000 km). It moves every round and sometimes spikes or crashes. The ⛽ button at the top shows it.
• Every flight that actually flies burns fuel by distance. Grounded, stormed or AD flights burn none.
• Fares include a fuel recovery sized for a normal price. Fuel dearer than normal eats into profit; cheaper fuel adds to it.
• You are never grounded for lack of fuel: any shortfall is bought at the market price.
• Hedge (costs no action): fill your tank (15 units per aircraft) when fuel is cheap, or sign a fixed-price contract (12 units at today's price + 3% for 6 turns, up to 2 at a time).

Scenario: a 5,571 km clean flight

A half-revenue MEL flight earns only half the recovery but burns the same fuel, so those flights can lose money on fuel; that balances out with the clean flights over time. If you own a contract at $5,150 a unit, every unit costs $5,150 whatever the market does: you win when fuel spikes and lose a little when it crashes.

Tips

• Check the index every turn. Below about 0.90 is a buying chance; above 1.30 burn from your tank and contracts, not the market.
• Be choosy at STAR auctions: a deal only pays if you survive to collect it. Bid when you have cash to spare, not your last reserve.
• Keep cash: with fuel and groundings, a single bad turn can cost $50,000 or more.
• Keep two or three spare parts and avoid exclusivity unless your fleet is healthy.
• Short regional flights burn little fuel. Shifting some flying there steadies your profit when fuel spikes.
• Open the fuel desk to see your expense breakdown: the "hedging result" shows whether your buys beat the market.