The Airline Chief — Price, Features and Who Should Skip

The Airline Chief is an upcoming airline business simulation from developer Marco Galvao. It is listed as free on the App Store and is currently available for pre-order, with a release date of 16 October 2026. The game is not out yet, so nobody has played it and no user ratings exist.

This guide sticks to what the official listing confirms: price, release date, features and limits. It does not guess at gameplay quality, and it does not promise anything the developer has not announced. If a detail is missing from the listing, that is stated plainly.

What The Airline Chief Is

The Airline Chief is a business simulation game for people who follow commercial aviation. You start with one aircraft and a loan, then build an airline that competes against up to 14 rival carriers. The rivals grow, start price wars and sometimes go bankrupt.

The listing places it in the Games category under Simulation and Strategy, and it supports English, French and German. The game runs on iPhone and iPad, and it needs an internet connection when an ad is due, which is every eighth game week. No other platforms are named on the official page.

Release Date and Pre-Order

The official App Store page shows a release date of 16 October 2026, and the game is available for pre-order now. That is the only date the listing provides, and it has not been confirmed as final by any other source.

The page does not mention any pre-order bonus, exclusive item or early-access reward. It also does not say whether the date could slip. If you pre-order, you are reserving the game at its listed price of free, with no extra incentive shown.

View on the store

Key Features

Start with one aircraft and a loan, then open routes between real airports.

Buy, lease or trade used aircraft and configure cabins.

Plan every flight of the week and manage fleet maintenance.

Set economy, business and first class fares route by route.

Use over 1,100 real airports, traffic rights, codeshares and alliances.

Manage fuel, staff, lounges, marketing, loans, taxes and a board of directors.

Pricing and What Is Still Unclear

The Airline Chief is free to download and play. The listing states that the game shows ads, and an internet connection is needed when an ad is due, which happens every eighth game week. It does not mention in-app purchases, a subscription or a paid tier.

What is still unclear is whether the free version is the whole game or a limited slice. The listing does not say how many aircraft, routes or seasons are included, and it does not confirm whether ads can be removed. The listing also does not show a rating, a download count or any user feedback, because the game is not out yet.