1 August 2006
To All Of Our Pilots,

SimAirline.net opened our twenty-fifth virtual airline, Thai Virtual, this past month. Thai Virtual is our first virtual airline based in Southeast Asia and offers flights to twenty new destinations and four new countries. We were able to reach both parts of our second monthly goal in order to add Pan American Virtual, but not the first goal: we need to fill five key management positions. We are currently hiring for these Virtual Airline Manager positions: British Airways, Icelandair, KLM, South African, and Varig.

Varig Virtual to Restructure Operations
Varig recently announced a major restructuing of its network that will see it operate far fewer services than before. After careful consideration, we have decided to operate Varig's schedule from the mid-90s, recognizing that it would offer far more aircraft and destinations than the current network. This decision was made in recognition of the fact that the general feeling in the aviation community is similar to that of Sabena and Swissair five years ago; the name may still be flying, but it's just not the same. We expect the restructuring to be complete by the end of this month.

Air Berlin Virtual Flights Simplified
Last week a new Air Berlin Virtual timetable was released. This timetable is slightly smaller than the one the actual airline uses; several routes with limited frequencies from smaller airports were removed, providing for a smoother and more understandable route network.

Era Closes Bethel Hub
Era Aviation recently decided to close its hub in Bethel; Alaska Virtual offers these flights from Bethel to small communities in southeast Alaska. As a result of this change at Era, Alaska Virtual will do the same, but not until 6 August.

Legends of the Skies
At this time, we are looking into adding historical routes of our four largest virtual airlines, British Airways, Continental, Delta, and Northwest. We are currently partnered with Tim Trivett of Legends of the Skies for this effort.

Routes Page Added
Following several requests, our new Routes page is open. This page offers links to our available route maps, all created by SimAirline.net, and information on new routes in the last month for each virtual airline.

Reminder When Selecting Flights
When you are flying a flight using a downloadable timetable, you need to follow the aircraft codes on that virtual airline's Flight page. A large number of flights are being flown with the incorrect aircraft type and not being approved. Taking the time to check the aircraft code before flying can be the difference between having the PIREP accepted or not.

Fleet Manager Position Renamed
The Fleet Manager position has been renamed to Virtual Airline Manager in recognition that the position is not just involved in the aircraft of the virtual airline but its entire operations. As mentioned above, we are currently hiring for these Virtual Airline Manager positions: British Airways, Icelandair, KLM, South African, and Varig. We now require that VA Managers be an Interim VA Manager for at least a month.

Contributions Update
SimAirline.net still needs $367.65 to fulfill its contributions goal for the year. We are now accepting contributions via money order. You can learn more about how to contribute here.

Virtual Airline of the Month - Virtual Icelandair
This month's featured virtual airline is Virtual Icelandair, our smallest European virtual airline. More information on Virtual Icelandair, including selected screenshots, can be found here.

Summer in the Northern Hemisphere is nearing its end; it's definitely been a summer to remember here at SimAirline.net, with many new routes and another virtual airline opening. I hope we can reach our monthly goals this month and add Pan American Virtual, perhaps our most exciting and far-reaching virtual airline yet.

Aaron Robinson
aaron.robinson@simairline.net
AOL Instant Messenger: SimAirlineNet