Sabotage is the act of destroying, damaging or obstructing something; in this case, a competing airline. The Airline Tycoon series allows airlines to sabotage other airlines through a variety of options. The basic idea is that acts of sabotage against rival airlines will ruin their image, enticing more customers to fly with other airlines; hence generating more profits for the other airlines. But beware! Frequent and detrimental sabotage attempts increase your likelihood of being caught and fined by the Airport Manager. There are also ways to protect an airline from sabotage and recover from an act of sabotage. Note that the descriptions below contain spoilers pertaining to collectible items scattered around the airport.
Airline Tycoon[]
Sabotage is possible in freeplay and in all missions except the first ("A New Job") in Airline Tycoon. The saboteur responsible for these acts of sabotage can be found in a backroom (referred to as the "PetrolAir Backroom" in the Address Book that can be purchased in the Duty-Free Shop) located between the Petrol Air counter and the Duty-Free Shop.
To gain access to sabotage, you must first give a violin case to the guy behind the Petrol Air counter. The violin case can be purchased at the Duty-Free Shop after the first day of a mission or freeplay. Click on the fire extinguisher on the wall between Petrol Air and the Duty-Free Shop to access the Petrol Air Backrrom, and speak to the man there to sabotage competitors.
Acts of Sabotage[]
The following are lists of sabotage options and their costs available as of Airline Tycoon Deluxe. Not all options are initially available. New options will become available as you commit more acts of sabotage. An act of sabotage cannot be requested until a previous one is fulfilled. Once an act is successfully carried out, the saboteur will call you or a fax will arrive in your office inbox to inform you as such. In theory, more expensive acts of sabotage are more detrimental to your opponents. Some options will not be carried out by the saboteur if the target airline has acquired protection from that specific option through the Security Office. However, engaging in sabotage raises the ire of the airport manager, and the more acts of sabotage an airline manager commits, the more likely they are to be caught and fined by the airport manager.
Something with the planes[]
- Heavily salted food onboard ($1,000)
- Breakdown of the on-board movie theatre ($5,000)
- Delay due to flat tire ($10,000)
- Engine breakdown ($50,000)
- A plane crash ($100,000)
Something very personal for my rival[]
- Bacteria in the coffee ($10,000)
This sabotage sends your character to the restrooms located between Rick’s cafe and Newspaper Stand.
- Virus on the notebook ($25,000)
This sabotage ruins your notebook by sending a computer virus to your notebook.
- Bomb in the office ($50,000)
This sabotage ruins your office by a bomb explosion in your office.
- Provoke a strike ($250,000)
This sabotage suspends your flights by disconnecting your employees.
Something special for my opponent[]
- Place brochures in competitor's aircraft ($100,000)
- Cut off telephones ($500,000)
- Publish a false press-release ($1,000,000)
This sabotage cancells all your flights for a full day.
- Hack bank account ($2,000,000)
This sabotage causes 1 million dollars to be stolen by the competitor who is responsible from this sabotage.
- Ground a competitor's aircraft ($5,000,000)
Preventing Sabotage[]
Just as your airline can sabotage other airlines, other airlines can sabotage yours. The only method of protecting an airline from sabotage is by buying security at the Security Office. Keep in mind that security is not a one-time cost; it's an operational cost, meaning that as long as you want some security, your airline must pay for it every day (and for every plane) that you use it.
Recovering from Sabotage[]
In case you do not want to rely on the Security Office or the Security Office is unavailable (periodic blackouts have been known to occur in Airline Tycoon Deluxe; during which time no airline is safe from sabotage) all is not lost! Even though sabotage may not be preventable, an airline can still recover from certain types of sabotage.
Bacteria in the coffee[]
This form of sabotage will send your character running to the airport's restrooms between the Newspaper Stands and Rick's Cafe. As long as the problem isn't solved, your airline manager will run back to the restrooms every few seconds, preventing any useful work from being done.
The solution is to go to the Airport Manager's office, click on the bulletin board with the branch bids, and click on the postcard to retrieve it. Then, go to the Personnel Office, and click on the postcard in your inventory to give it to Ms. Selig. After she thanks you, you'll be allowed to raid her desk for pills. Click on the red and white box of pills in her desk drawer to get some pills, then click on the pills in your inventory to ingest them. Your character will no longer have to run to the restrooms.
From this point on, whenever someone tampers with your coffee, you will only have to go to the Personnel Office and take the pills.
Notebook Virus[]
This form of sabotage ruins your notebook computer. Although you can still use the filofax in your office, this can be a serious inconvenience because the notebook allows you to view information and plan flights anywhere in the airport.
To get rid of the virus, you must first go to the Air Travel counter. Spend some time waiting there, and eventually, a spider will crawl out of the ALOHA brochure box. Click on the spider to retrieve it. Next, go to the Petrol Air Backroom and click on the spider in your inventory to give it to the saboteur. On the moose's head, you'll see three darts. Click on one of the darts to retrieve it (the saboteur won't mind thanks to the tarantula). Go to the Advertising Agency, and click on the dart in your inventory to give it to the guy in the cap. Then, click on the floppy disk on the edge of his desk to retrieve it (he won't mind thanks to the dart). Click on the disk in your inventory as the disk will be equipped to your notebok. Click on your notebook, and it should be working properly.
From this point on, you will only have to go to the ad agency and retrieve the disk (without all the other steps) to deal with the computer virus.
Bomb in the office[]
There is no way to recover your office back until the next day. The only way to stop this sabotage is to monitor your office.
Employee Strike[]
This form of sabotage essentially suspends all flights. Any plane on the ground will remain grounded and any plane in the air will be grounded as soon as they land, with all future flights delayed indefinitely.
To end the strike, first go to the Plane Broker. Wait there a while, and an overhead compartment should pop open. Click on the bra to retrieve it. Go to the Duty-Free Shop, and click on the bra to give it to the sales lady.Apparently she was looking for it everywhere. Click on the horseshoe on the wall to retrieve it (the sales lady won't mind thanks to the bra). Next, go to Rick's Cafe, and click on the horseshoe to give it to the man in the green shirt. After he thanks you, click on the man and he'll work on ending the strike. Mr. Hagedorn will call you shortly after from the Personnel Office to let you know when the strike has ended.
From this point on, you will only have to click on the man in the green shirt at Rick's Cafe to end a strike.
Airline Tycoon 2[]
Airline Tycoon 2 allows you to enable/disable sabotage for freeplay on the screen where you select a home airport; however, sabotage cannot be disabled for campaign missions. The saboteur in Airline Tycoon 2 can be found on the lower or ground level of the airport; specifically in section A, just to the right of the security checkpoint and under the "Arrivals" sign. As your avatar walks closer towards it, a tube will rise out of the ground behind a blue sign, next to a cactus, and under a TV monitor. Click on this tube to enter the supposed "flower shop". Conversely, you can press its shortcut key, X, to get there instantly.
To gain access to sabotage, first go to the Airport Manager's office. On the right side of the screen, there will be a black violin case lying on the floor behind some chairs - click on it to place it in your inventory. Next, go to the saboteur's hideout. Click on the little cabinet icon on the toolbar to open your inventory, click on the violin case, then click on the hand icon to use it. Then, click on the saboteur to give the violin case to him, who will then mumble something about a fire extinguisher...and resetting. The saboteur has, now, granted access to sabotage. As opposed to sabotage in Airline Tycoon, multiple acts of sabotage can be carried out at the same time.
Acts of Sabotage[]
The following are lists of sabotage options and their costs. Additional sabotage options are denoted by a letter in square brackets corresponding with headings under the next section, "Unlocking Additional Acts of Sabotage":
Delay an airplane, by:[]
- [A] A false bomb threat ($20,000,000)
- "Accidentally" pour water into the tank ($12,000,000)
- Sabotaging the engines ($6,000,000)
- Slashing tires ($3,000,000)
Ruin customer satisfaction, by:[]
- [A] Rigging the in-flight entertainment so that it only shows rereuns of Idol ($4,000,000)
- Pouring castor oil into coffee ($2,000,000)
- Blocking up on-board toilets ($1,000,000)
- Switching in-flight magazines with five year-old issues of PICTURE ($500,000)
Special options[]
- Bribe the flight attendants to mistreat the passengers ($500,000)
- Mix tasteless alcohol into the pilot's drink ($500,000)
- Over-salt the food on board the airplane ($500,000)
Directly steal money from competitors, by hiring:[]
- Conrad M. Coriander, the head of the security firm Peach ($8,000,000)
- Marcella Helltale, the chairwoman of the local hacker club ($4,000,000)
- Batty Joe, the shady hacker from next door ($2,000,000)
Unlocking Additional Acts of Sabotage[]
The previous lists of sabotage options include standard options available once sabotage is unlocked, as well as additional options (denoted by letters in square brackets) that can only be unlocked by giving the saboteur various items found around the airport. This section will describe the location of those items.
A - The Bomb[]
First go to the Bank. To the left of your avatar, there should be a garbage can - click on it and a bomb will be placed in your inventory. Then, go to the saboteur's hideout, and give the bomb to him to unlock the sabotage options denoted by: [A].
B - The Flowers[]
Go to the Airport Shop, and buy the flowers. Return to the saboteur and give the flowers to him. Supposedly, this can unlock additional sabotage options.
Preventing Sabotage[]
As was the case in Airline Tycoon, the only method of protecting an airline from sabotage is by buying security at the Security Office. Keep in mind that security is not a one-time cost; it's an operational cost, meaning that as long as you want some security, your airline must pay for it every day (and for every plane) that you use it.