1945 to 2045 and beyond
Eras
The century is divided where the rules, technology or economy changed, so eras are different lengths. Early eras are short because so much changed so quickly.
OpinionShorter eras let each one be modelled in depth, and let the player feel time passing. The boundaries below are provisional until each date is sourced.
- 011945 to 1951Surplus and settlement
Wartime transports flood the market while the rules of international flying are written.- Surplus transports make thousands of tiny airlines possible
- A framework for international rights and fares is agreed
- States build or rebuild flag carriers
- Flying boats still serve routes with no runway
- 021952 to 1957Tourist class and turbine dawn
Cheaper fares open the Atlantic to a wider public as the first turbine airliners arrive.- A tourist class fare appears
- The first jet airliner enters service and is grounded
- The first turboprop airliner begins airline service
- Air passengers begin to outnumber sea passengers on the Atlantic
- 031958 to 1964Jet transition
Long haul jets arrive. Order too early and you carry empty seats and debt. Too late and your rivals take the best passengers.- Jets replace pistons on the Atlantic
- Runways lengthen and terminals are rebuilt
- Charter and inclusive tour flying takes off in Europe
- US supplemental carriers become charter only
- 041965 to 1973Widebodies and mass travel
Bigger aircraft, cheaper seats, noise rules and the first security screening.- Widebody jets cut the cost of a seat
- Charters carry millions
- Noise limits begin to shape airports
- Hijackings lead to passenger screening
- 051974 to 1978The old rules end
An oil shock, a supersonic airliner and the end of route and fare control in the United States.- Fuel prices jump and fares follow
- A supersonic airliner enters service
- Bilateral agreements are renegotiated
- US deregulation changes who may fly where
- 061979 to 1986Deregulation and hubs
Free entry, new fare structures and the hub and spoke network.- Hub and spoke becomes the dominant network model
- Frequent flyer programmes appear
- New entrants arrive and many fail
- An air traffic controller strike tests the system
- 071987 to 1993Privatisation and liberalisation
Flag carriers are sold, Europe opens its skies and the Cold War ends.- Europe liberalises air transport in stages
- Flag carriers are privatised
- Open skies agreements spread
- A Gulf war and a recession test balance sheets
- 081994 to 2000Alliances and the low cost wave
Global alliances form while a new kind of cheap airline is born.- Global alliances link networks
- A single European aviation market takes shape
- Low cost carriers prove the model
- Extended range twin jets open new routes
- 092001 to 2007Security and the shakeout
September 2001 changes security for good and legacy airlines struggle.- Security regimes tighten in steps
- Legacy carriers fail or merge
- Low cost carriers keep growing
- A double deck superjumbo flies
- 102008 to 2014Crisis and consolidation
A financial crisis, a fuel spike and a wave of mergers.- Mergers create giants
- Fuel efficiency drives fleet decisions
- Ancillary revenue becomes a profit centre
- A volcanic ash cloud closes airspace
- 112015 to 2019Peak and the ultra low cost age
Record traffic, long haul low cost and a major narrowbody grounding.- Long haul low cost experiments multiply
- Capacity limits dominate big airports
- Environmental pressure grows
- A widely flown narrowbody is grounded
- 122020 to 2025Pandemic and recovery
Traffic collapses and returns. Airspace closes and supply chains strain.- A global pandemic halts most flying
- Governments rescue carriers
- Airspace closes over sanctions and conflict
- Aircraft and parts become scarce
- 132026 to 2034Projection one
The future, offered two ways: a set of scenario branches, and a single labelled projection.- Carbon pricing and fuel mandates
- New narrowbody generation decisions
- Claims about electric, hydrogen and supersonic flight tested
- Autonomy debates
- 142035 to 2044Projection two
A speculative decade constrained by the branch you chose.- Electric and hydrogen regional aircraft
- Reduced crew operations
- High speed rail competition
- Climate regulation
- 152045 onwardProcedural
Open ended play. Technology generates fictional aircraft families and the event table keeps churning.- Generated aircraft families
- City growth from modelled trends
- Future shocks drawn from a weighted event table
The future
Eras thirteen and fourteen cover 2026 to 2044. They are offered two ways: a handful of scenario branches, chosen at the start of the era, and a single labelled projection for players who want the most likely path. Real data runs to the present, and anything after is marked as a projection in the game and in the data.
Dates and events in this map come from general knowledge. Each one is a research prompt, and none enters the game data until it has been sourced.