The Filofax is a multipurpose loose-leaf notebook used to store information about order flights, routes, planes, cities (i.e. branches), and other information about an airline and its competitors. It is a tool that is available from Airline Tycoon (original) to Airline Tycoon Deluxe, but absent from Airline Tycoon 2. To open the Filofax, return to your airline's main office, click on the globe, and click on the Filofax to the left of it. There are three tabs on the left side of the Filofax separating each of the three sections of the Filofax:
- A red tab with a plane
- A blue tab with a building
- An orange tab with an 'i'
If a section of the Filofax has more than one page, then you can click the bottom right corner or bottom left corner of the page to flip forward or backwards through the pages.
Planes[]
Clicking on the red tab with the plane will open a page that lists the planes in your airline's fleet. On the right side of the Filofax, there will be three tabs:
- A tab with a pen and notepad - click on this to show a list of accepted passenger order flights
- A tab with a crate - click on this to show a list of accepted cargo order flights
- A tab with a plane flying a circular path - click on this to show a list of rented routes
Under the name of each plane is its current destination or location, and to the right of it: its maintenance condition. Click on the name of a plane to view more details about that plane. You can click on the red bookmark with the yellow arrow at the side at any time to return to the full list of planes.
The first page that opens will be the plane's flight plane for the next seven days. Hover the cursor over a completed flight or a flight in progress to view its details, which includes:
- Origin and Destination - expressed as: [Origin] - [Destination]
- Distance - expressed in kilometers
- Passengers - expressed as: [# of 2nd-class Passengers} / [# of 1st-class Passengers]
- Ticket Price - expressed as: [2nd-class Ticket Price] / [1st-class Ticket Price]
- Income - simply the sum of nth-class ticket price times the number of nth-class passengers
- Expenses - the cost of the flight
- Profit - Income minus Expenses; what the airline earns from the flight
- Gate - the number of the gate occupied by the plane
This first page is also where you can create, edit and delete the plane's flight plan as you see fit. For more information on flight planning with the Filofax, refer to the article on Flight Planning.
The second page presents the technical details of the plane including:
- Aircraft model
- Passengers - expressed as: [# of 2nd-class Seats] ([# of 1st-class seats])
- Freight - the maximum amount of cargo it can carry on a single flight, expressed in tons
- Range - the longest distance it can fly with maximum fuel, expressed in kilometers
- Speed - expressed in kilometers per hour
- Tank - maximum capacity of its fuel tanks, expressed in liters
- Consumption - its fuel consumption rate, expressed in liters per hour
- Pilots - expressed as: [# on board] (needs: [minimum # required])
- Attendants - expressed as: [# on board] (needs: [minimum # required])
- Year of construction
- Rename plane
Click on "Rename plane" to give it a new name.
The third page lists the name of each crew member (i.e. pilots and flight attendants).
The fourth page contains some statistics about the plane, including:
- Passengers - the total number of passengers flown by the plane
- Flown - the total distance flown by the plane, expressed in kilometers
- Capacity-use - expressed as: [average capacity of the plane] / [maximum capacity of the plane]. In other words, on average, how much of the plane is full, expressed as a percentage of its full capacity per flight.
The fifth page contains a brief description about the aircraft model.
Cities[]
Clicking on the blue tab with the picture of buildings will open a list of airport locations around the world. It is possible for a branch to exist in every city on this list. A city listed in black contains a branch that you can contact; whereas, a greyed-out city name indicates a branch that you cannot contact yet. Hover your cursor over an airport name on the list and the right side of the Filofax will show:
- The name of the city
- The IATA code of the airport located in the city
- Its geographical location
- The number of inhabitants in the city
- The office rent - a regular payment made by the airline that won the rights to the branch in an auction
- The airlines that can contact this branch and their rank, if any (more on this later)
Click on a city name to view additional details about that city. Click on the red bookmark with the yellow arrow at the side at any time to return to the full list of cities. The first page about the city will list the number of inhabitants in the city and the office rent fee. If this city has a branch your airline can contact, then you will also be presented with your airline's rank and image, as well as an option to drop [the] branch if you no longer wish to rent it. Your "rank" compares how often you fly passenger order flights and cargo order flights to and from this city relative to your competitors. So if your airline flies more passenger and cargo order flights to this city than any other competitor, then your airline's rank is: 1. By default, your airline's rank is: 1. Your "image" is how the city views your airline. A better airline image leads to more passengers aboard your flights, hence more profit. Airline image can be improved at the advertising agency.
The second page contains a brief description of the city, and the third page has a small picture of some aspect of the city.
Information and Reports[]
Clicking on the orange tab with the "i" will display some information and reports including:
- Use of gates
- Daily balance sheet
- Income through planes
- Competitors
Click on one of these options to view the relevant information or report. From there, you can click on the red bookmark with the yellow arrow at the side at any time to return to the full list of reports.
Use of Gates[]
This screen shows the gate schedule for the next seven days in the form of a histogram or bar graph. The height of each bar indicates the proportion of gates occupied during that 30-minute time slot. Solid blocks of red indicate time slots where there are more planes requiring gates than there are gates available, meaning that some passengers will be disembarking elsewhere. This can reduce customer satisfaction and; therefore, your airline's image over time. If gates are frequently fully occupied, then one should consider adjusting some flight schedules. If that doesn't fix the problem, then one might consider requesting an additional gate from Mr. Uhrig, the airport manager.
Daily Balance Sheet[]
You will need a financial advisor to view this report.
Income[]
The first page of this report shows the airline's income balance (i.e. total) for the day in thousands of dollars. So if, for example, the number beside income is 5, then actual income is: 5 x $1,000 = $5,000. Sources of income listed include:
- Interest
- Stock Dividends
- Tickets
- Orders
Expenses[]
The second page of this report shows the airline's expense balance for the day in thousands of dollars. Sources of expenses listed include:
- Interest
- Stock Yields
- Kerosene
- Personnel
- Contract Penalty
- Maintenance
- Gate Rental Fees
- Branches
- Routes
Day's Balance[]
The final page shows the profit/balance for the day in thousands of dollars (i.e. income minus expenses).
Income Through Planes[]
You will need a financial advisor to view this report. The first page of this report explains the content on subsequent pages: "This report shows which planes are making a profit and which are not. It shows the balance (i.e. difference between costs and income) for each plane. Please scroll through the pages to view the results." The balance accounts for income and expenses for each plane from the time of its purchase to "now".
Competitors[]
You will need an informer to view this report. All monetary values in this report are expressed in millions of dollars (i.e. 1 = $1,000,000).
The first page shows the amount of money (i.e. cash on hand) each airline currently holds as well as the amount of debt held by each airline. If "money" is equal to or less than zero by the end of the day, the airline is officially bankrupt, and the bank will close your airline, ending the game.
The second page shows the number of planes owned by each airline and each airline's overall image. New planes can be bought at the Plane Broker, while old planes can be bought and sold at the Museum. An airline's image can be improved at the advertising agency.
The third, and final, page shows the number of routes and branches held by each airline. Note that for two cities: A, and B, flights going from A to B is one route, and the return trip (B to A) is another route for a total of two routes. Additional routes can be rented or released at the Route Management Board. Bids must be placed for additional branches in the airport manager's office or by forming co-operations with other airline managers to gain access to their branches.