Aeronautics was neither an industry nor a science. It was a miracle.Igor Sikorsky, Russian American pioneer of aviation
It is time to take to the skies, titans of industry! You have chosen to risk fortunes in a new era of capitalistic expansion. Caravans have commanded road trade, merchants have marked their dominance at sea, and now you too can earn your wealth and fortune as you take Earth's people to new lands and exotic destinations in the airplane. The sky is the limit, but a deadly crash is not far away. Marginal profits and burdensome expenses ravage your teetering business venture. Will your survive, and connect the planet at 30,000 feet? Or will you just be a mere footnote in history and another failed attempt? We're off the ground, CEOs. Good luck! Round 1: Autumn 2012As CEO of the airline at the start of the tournament, here is the data on your finances,
Financial Information- Airline Budget: +$25
No previous revenues or expenses to report from previous rounds. 
Required Turn Options/ActionsYou must respond to this message, choosing one of the following two actions.- Establish 1 (and only 1) flight route, to a city airport connected to your starting airport (see the map). You will play 1v1 games on the maps corresponding to the names of the cities connected by the route you choose.
This actions costs $2, which you must pay immediately (bringing your budget to $23).
[spoiler=Route Maintenance Expense]
- At the end of this round, you will be paying $0.50 for every route that you own.
So, if you purchase a route, you will lose $2 in obtaining the route, and an additional $0.50 at the end of the round as an expense (which will bring your budget to $22.50 at the end of the round).
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OR- Choose not to establish a flight route.
This action will result in a $4 inactivity expense, which will be paid at the end of the round (bringing your budget to $21 after Round 1).
At the start of Round 1, each airline already automatically has a new fleet. So, in this case, it is pointless to purchase a new fleet (which will otherwise be one of the turn options in the future).
Details on Airline RoutesAll flight routes you establish must be connected to your starting hub through a chain of routes (as in chained reinforcements!).
Therefore, to establish a new route, just tell me which airport you want to fly to.
The airport must, as a result of the chained rule, be connected to your hub airport. So, if you start in London, you must fly to either Luxembourg, Montreal, or NYC.
North American Map[spoiler=North America]
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European Map[spoiler=Europe]
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Please respond ONLY to this message within 3 days, with your turn option for your airline! If you want to establish a route, just give me the name of the airport you want to fly to (as indicated on the map).DO NOT post your response on the tournament page; I will summarize all airlines' actions in one message.Thank you! If you have questions, I am standing by to answer them!
Have a great day, and welcome to the tournament.
James
The Tournament Rules (click here)The Grand Standings, and How to Win (click here)Airline Details (click here)List of Games and Individual Route Standings (click here)
