-
-
Logo
-
Main Screen
-
Operation Center
-
Airplane Detail
-
Notification Settings
-
Checklist
-
Market & Bonus
-
Buy a new airplane
-
Fleet
-
Buy fuel
-
Create a new campaign
-
Employees
-
Company
Inspiration
We wanted to create an airline management game that feels alive without requiring a constant internet connection. Airline operations are naturally connected to time, planning, and delayed outcomes, so we designed Runway Capital around a simple idea: every decision should continue to matter even when the app is closed.
What it does
Runway Capital is a real-time, local-first airline management simulator. Players start with a single base and aircraft, then expand their airline by:
- Purchasing and configuring aircraft
- Choosing profitable routes
- Managing fuel, crew, maintenance, demand, and airport rights
- Dispatching flights manually
- Monitoring aircraft on a live world map
- Upgrading hangars, runways, and fuel depots
- Building reputation, brand awareness, and financial stability
The game supports English, Turkish, Japanese, and German.
How we built it
We built Runway Capital with Flutter for iOS. Game state is stored locally using Drift and SQLite, allowing the simulator to work without a mandatory backend.
We created a UTC-based event scheduler and catch-up engine so flights, deliveries, payroll, maintenance, demand, and notifications continue correctly while the app is closed. The map uses native MapLibre with NASA Blue Marble imagery, OpenFreeMap vector layers, and local dynamic layers for airports, routes, and aircraft.
We also built a reusable dark aviation HUD system with command rails, responsive facility scenes, aircraft cards, telemetry panels, and adaptive layouts for phones and tablets.
Challenges we ran into
The biggest challenge was keeping a real-time simulation reliable while remaining local-first. We had to handle app restarts, offline time, device clock changes, duplicate events, unfinished flights, and transaction safety without relying on a server.
Designing a map-centered game interface for both small phones and tablets was another challenge. We replaced conventional app navigation with an aviation-style command HUD while keeping every action discoverable and accessible.
Balancing the economy was also complex. Fuel prices, aircraft costs, demand, maintenance, salaries, upgrades, and loans all needed to feel meaningful without making early gameplay frustrating.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We are proud that Runway Capital is a fully playable airline management experience built around real operational systems rather than simple menu screens.
The project includes:
- A 4,000-airport production catalog
- A live world map with routes and moving aircraft
- Manual flight dispatch and offline catch-up
- Aircraft delivery and multi-base deployment
- Fuel, maintenance, crew, demand, and finance systems
- A 33-aircraft fictional catalog with original visual assets
- Responsive HUD screens for phones and tablets
- Local notifications for real flight events
- A four-language localization system
- RevenueCat-based monetization infrastructure
What we learned
We learned that simulation games become much more engaging when systems interact with one another. A route is not only a source of income; it also affects fuel usage, crew availability, maintenance, demand, reputation, and cash flow.
We also learned that local-first architecture requires careful thinking about time, idempotency, immutable snapshots, and database transactions from the beginning. Finally, we learned that a strong visual language can make complex management systems feel much more approachable.
What's next for Runway Capital Airline Manager
Our next priorities are expanding the airline world with more aircraft, airport upgrades, regional economies, weather effects, deeper passenger demand, and richer operational events.
We also plan to improve the strategic layer with alliances, competitor airlines, cargo operations, seasonal demand, global challenges, and more meaningful long-term company progression.
Our goal is to make Runway Capital feel like a living airline network that grows with the player, while preserving the fast, reliable, and local-first experience at its core.
Log in or sign up for Devpost to join the conversation.