Airport Tycoon 2 Plane Tier List
A seven-seat starter beats a jumbo that never fills. Rank hangar buys by queue, not by wingspan.
Planes in Airport Tycoon 2 are capacity multipliers. They do not replace security, destinations, or luck. Official copy promises huge aircraft and exotic routes; playthroughs show the first jet boarding about seven people. This list ranks when to buy, because the developers have not published a complete named fleet with prices.
S — The plane you can fill today
Whatever airframe matches your current curb. If seven people wait, the starter is S. If twenty wait and you have two gates, the next size is S. S is a condition, not a skin.
You know you are in S when boarding clears the sidewalk before the next security wave. You know you left S when families stand in the fountain because the jet is full.
A — The first upgrade after a destination exists
Once Where To Next? is unlocked, ticket value can justify more seats. A-tier is the smallest paid jump that does not starve amenity paths. Buy it after Snack Tax and Line Buster, not before. Pair it with the money guide.
B — Extra airframes for extra gates
Expansions (Room for More, no Star Tokens) add gates such as C1/C2 in the official art. A second plane is B until the second gate has seating and a scanner diet. Two empty jets is not a fleet.
C — Showcase / huge planes
The listing sells the dream of huge planes. They are C until Legendary traffic and high pick-chance destinations exist. A giant fuselage on Commons is a museum.
D — Hangar flex on a one-lane airport
If you still have one scanner, do not buy a monument. That cash wanted to be a lane, a destination, or the first rebirth luck bump.
How destinations change the rank
A high ticket city with a 27% pick chance (the kind of number shown in completion videos) makes extra seats valuable. A trophy destination that never gets rolled does not. Always open the destination list in another tab before you tap the hangar button.
Legendary passengers raise the value of every seat. If your index is empty, spend on luck and amenities that hold VIPs, not on a longer cabin.
Co-op hangar rules
On an Update 6 co-op save, one partner should be allowed to buy planes. Double-clicks waste a shared ATM. Call the purchase, wait for auto-save, then both of you watch one takeoff so you know the capacity actually rose.
World 2 caveat
A winter airport may add cold-weather liveries or new sizes. We will name them when they are in the client. Until then, the S/A/B/C/D rules stay. Snow does not fill empty seats.
Related
Use Getting Started if you do not own a plane yet. Use the walkthrough if you are badge hunting Takeoff! and Frequent Flyer. Use scripts only if you like risk — auto-buy hangar scripts from other tycoons will not know this game’s fleet.
Sibling lists: amenities and destinations. Late playthroughs name a Lava Jet as a flex unlock after heavy spending. Treat it as C/D until Legendary traffic and high-ticket cities exist. You are not the pilot by default — boarding is NPC departures from gates A1, A2, B1, C1, C2. Comments on completion videos mention terminal 1, which implies more terminals later; we will not invent Terminal 2 layouts until they are in the client.
This page is one third of the tier list hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the most common questions.
What is the best plane in Airport Tycoon 2?
The smallest plane that clears your current queue. Huge jets are late-game after destinations and luck.
Should I buy a plane before a destination?
No. Unlock a destination first so extra seats have ticket value.
Why does my big plane make no money?
It is probably flying Commons through one gate. Fix security, amenities, and luck, then upgrade the hangar.
Do co-op partners need two starter planes?
Not at the beginning. Fill one aircraft, then add a second when a second gate is actually busy.