News

Hello Pilots,

This month's news update will highlight some updates to the website.

Website News

The forum has been discontinued and may now be found in our Discord server. For tour suggestions, or longer format discussions we encourage you to use the forum functionality. If you haven't joined Discord yet, use discord.gg/gUTREjv to join. The flight briefing page will now show the airline call sign for reference, we are working on improving the accuracy of the displayed callsigns to take subsidiaries into account. Further airports have received gate information to further improve the information on the flight briefing page.

Tour updates

The process of refreshing our tours continues at pace. The following are the plans for the rest of the year:

• All our ‘Aircraft Tours’ will be retired at the end of June 2023. These tours are the least popular and overlap with other tours. We will consolidate the aircraft tours into groups, e.g. turboprops, and move them into the themed tours section. Any existing awards that you have earned will remain.
• Instead of a very long Hub tour, we will divide this into shorter tours and move them into the regional tour sections. The African and New World tours are examples with no expiry date unless there is a significant change in our hub structure. If you have flown any of these routes before, your progress will be retained, as will any awards.
• We will introduce a new section called ‘Fly again.’ Here we will reactivate expired tours that were very popular and allow new pilots to compete. If you have flown one of these tours before, all your flight routes will be green to retain your award.
• Lastly, monthly tours now include common legs with other tours. Overlapping tours are very popular, and we will continue doing this with new tours.

The monthly tour takes you across the South Atlantic and across Africa. If you have any suggestions on tours you would like to see please let us know on Discord.

Closed airspaces

Current scheduled flight time durations may need to be amended due to longer flying times on account of closed airspace. Exceeding the listed scheduled flight time for this reason is expected and not an issue. If your flight is given a remark incorrectly please let us know via support ticket.

You can find more information about which airspaces are closed and how the civil aviation situation is developing on this FlightRadar24 page. Please adhere to these closures when performing flights on the VA.

Event Updates

We are working with the vACEPG initiative to co-host more VATSIM events. Please check the Events page for more details, we hope to see you there! Please let us know via Discord what kind of events you would like to see! To receive more frequent updates please subscribe to the Event Announcements notifications on our Discord server.

Airline News

Several shifts and mergers are expected throughout the year, though as ever timeframes appear somewhat loose. We will do our best to follow real-world shifts in the aviation industry as they may occur, though none of the following news is final. As of writing ITA Airways is in negotiations with the Lufthansa group regarding a (partial) take-over of ITA Airways. Both the IAG group and Air France-KLM have expressed interest in a (partial) takeover of TAP Air Portugal. The planned Korean Air merger with Asiana Airlines is currently held up with multiple regulators requiring more time to investigate the planned merger. Multiple airlines including the Avianca group, LATAM group, JetSMART, Wingo and Aerolíneas Argentinas have all expressed interest in taking over VIVA Air Colombia.

Broadly we can gather there is interest in consolidation throughout the industry and we will continue following these developments.

Closing words

As always if you have any suggestions or questions do not hesitate to let us know. If you would be interested in helping improve the VA do not hesitate to send an application to join the volunteer staff team using the support ticket system.

We would also like to remind you we have a Discord server. To join it, use discord.gg/gUTREjv.

Hello Pilots,

First of all happy new year and we wish you all the best in 2023! This news update brings some minor news and development updates.

Development Updates

During this quarter we will be discontinuing the forum, as announced in our last news update. All content that is currently on the forum will be moving to Discord. If you haven't joined Discord yet, use discord.gg/gUTREjv to join.

Tour updates

The monthly tour takes you from North to South America. Tours are continually in the process of being reworked and for more updates on retiring tours please check the Event and Tours section on the homepage.

If you have any suggestions on tours you would like to see please let us know on Discord.

Closing words

As always if you have any suggestions or questions do not hesitate to let us know.

We would also like to remind you we have a Discord server. To join it, use discord.gg/gUTREjv.

Happy new Year and safe flights!

Hello Pilots,

This month's news update will highlight some changes to the website, as well as some airline update news.

Future of the forum

In the next week, we will be rolling out a new homepage layout, which includes removing the last active forum topics from the homepage. The forum generally sees low usage, and this is the first step towards discontinuing the forum. We will be fully discontinuing the forum in the first quarter of 2023. As a replacement, we will be creating one or multiple forum channels on Discord. If you haven't joined Discord yet, use discord.gg/gUTREjv to join.

Closed airspaces

Current scheduled flight time durations may need to be amended due to longer flying times on account of closed airspace. Exceeding the listed scheduled flight time for this reason is expected and not an issue. If your flight is given a remark incorrectly please let us know via support ticket.

You can find more information about which airspaces are closed and how the civil aviation situation is developing on this FlightRadar24 page. Please adhere to these closures when performing flights on the VA.

Tour updates

The monthly tour takes you from coast-to-coast in the United States of America. Tours are continually in the process of being reworked and for more updates on retiring tours please check the Event and Tours section on the homepage.

If you have any suggestions on tours you would like to see please let us know on Discord.

Event Updates

We are working with the vACEPG initiative to co-host more VATSIM events. Please check the Events page for more details, we hope to see you there! Please let us know via Discord what kind of events you would like to see! To receive more frequent updates please subscribe to the Event Announcements notifications on our Discord server.

This month's focus city is Warsaw; all flights to and from this city will provide a score bonus.

Closing words

As always if you have any suggestions or questions do not hesitate to let us know.

We would also like to remind you we have a Discord server. To join it, use discord.gg/gUTREjv.

Hello Pilots,

This month's news is on the shorter side, due to personal obligations throughout the summer period. We will be looking to expand our staff team in the coming weeks; more information regarding this will be published in a separate news post.

Airline News

Airlink will be removed at the end of September as this airline is no longer part of South African Airways. Asky airlines, a subsidiary of Ethiopian airlines has been added to the VA, and operates various short- and medium-haul routes out of Lomé.

Development Updates

For X-Plane pilots the latest ToLiss A340-600 update broke compatibility with numerous third-party programs. We have implemented a fix for this and flights performed by this aircraft should now be scored correctly. For MSFS pilots the Fenix A320 continues to experience detection issues when using the SimConnect recording mode. Switching back to FSUIPC, which requires FSUIPC7 to be installed, allows for the correct scoring of this aircraft.

A number of older awards are being reworked to improve legibility and create a more coherent style. These will be rolling out over the course of the following weeks.

Closed airspaces

Current scheduled flight time durations may need to be amended due to longer flying times on account of closed airspace. Exceeding the listed scheduled flight time for this reason is expected and not an issue. If your flight is given a remark incorrectly please let us know via support ticket.

You can find more information about which airspaces are closed and how the civil aviation situation is developing on this FlightRadar24 page. Please adhere to these closures when performing flights on the VA.

Event Updates

We are working with the vACEPG initiative to co-host more VATSIM events. Please check the Events page for more details, we hope to see you there! Please let us know via Discord and the forums what kind of events you would like to see! To receive more frequent updates please subscribe to the Event Announcements notifications on our Discord server.

This month's focus city is Vienna; all flights to and from this city will provide a score bonus.

Tour updates

The monthly tour takes you across Europe. Tours are continually in the process of being reworked and for more updates on retiring tours please check the Event and Tours section on the homepage.

If you have any suggestions on tours you would like to see please let us know in the forums.

Closing words

As always if you have any suggestions please let us know.

We would also like to remind you we have a Discord server. To join it, use discord.gg/gUTREjv.

Hello Pilots,

This month's news update will highlight number of Quality of Life updates, as well as some airline update news.

Airline News

EVA Air subsidiary UNI air has been added to the VA. Moreover, All Nippon Airways subsidiaries Air Do, Solaseed and Phillipine Airlines have been added, providing more flights into and throughout Asia. Unfortunately Mango has suspended operations and has since been removed. Following South African Airways restructuring, AirLink is no longer a subsidiary and this airline will be removed after the current Southern Africa tour has run its course.

Development Updates

Most major route and fleet updates have been completed and should provide for more accurate flights. Asia is still experiencing severe COVID restrictions and this area is not as updated as our others. We are continually working to improve our schedule accuracy throughout this region.

Over 100 airports around the globe have received gate information, providing for a more detailed experience. If you would to help collaborate on gathering gate information for airports please let us know by creating a collaboration type support ticket. We will provide a document that can be filled out and imported to help improve our coverage.

As you may have noticed, some flights are now automatically approved. Auto-flight approval is based on flight score, as well as a number of other factors, among others substitution and routing requirements.

Closed airspaces

Current scheduled flight time durations may need to be amended due to longer flying times on account of closed airspace. Exceeding the listed scheduled flight time for this reason is expected and not an issue. If your flight is given a remark incorrectly please let us know via support ticket.

You can find more information about which airspaces are closed and how the civil aviation situation is developing on this FlightRadar24 page. Please adhere to these closures when performing flights on the VA.

Event Updates

We are working with the vACEPG initiative to co-host more VATSIM events. Please check the Events page for more details, we hope to see you there! Please let us know via Discord and the forums what kind of events you would like to see! To receive more frequent updates please subscribe to the Event Announcements notifications on our Discord server.

Tour updates

The monthly tour takes you across Western Africa. Tours are continually in the process of being reworked and for more updates on retiring tours please check the Event and Tours section on the homepage. Most tours now have published end dates so be sure to check the tour description.

If you have any suggestions on tours you would like to see please let us know in the forums.

Closing words

As always if you have any suggestions please let us know.

We would also like to remind you we have a Discord server. To join it, use discord.gg/gUTREjv.

Hello Pilots,

This news update brings some more airline news and development updates.

Airline News

We have added AeroUnion, a subsidiary of Avianca. This will provide more cargo routes throughout the America's. With Air India's privatization the Alliance Air subsidiary has left the Air India Group. As such it has been removed from the VA. We are monitoring real-world developments regarding the new ownership of Air India, and changes this may bring along in one of the fastest growing aviation markets.

Development Updates

All airlines have received their new summer schedules except for cases where there are still significant COVID related service disruptions. If there are routes missing please let us know via support ticket, and we will add these routes as soon as possible.

We are working on improving gate information, if you would to help collaborate on gathering gate information for airports please let us know by creating a collaboration type support ticket. We will provide a document that can be filled out and imported to help improve our coverage.

Closed airspaces

Current scheduled flight time durations may need to be amended due to longer flying times on account of closed airspace. Exceeding the listed scheduled flight time for this reason is expected and not an issue. If your flight is given a remark incorrectly please let us know via support ticket.

You can find more information about which airspaces are closed and how the civil aviation situation is developing at this FlightRadar24 page. Please adhere to these closures when performing flights on the VA.

Event Updates

We are working with the vACEPG initiative to co-host more VATSIM events. The next one is scheduled for the 15th of May, please check the Events page for more details, we hope to see you there! Please let us know via Discord and the forums what kind of events you would like to see! To receive more frequent updates please subscribe to the Event Announcements notifications on our Discord server.

Tour updates

Following feedback, we have decided to make the following changes to our tour structure. Currently, there are five types of tours, namely: New Pilot, Regional, Themed, Aircraft, and Airline tours. Our restructuring of the tours will start with New Pilot, Regional, Themed and Aircraft tours.

• Firstly, all tours will now have a start and end date giving you time to plan your flying. This was mentioned by various pilots. Most tours will be active for 12 months except for special or seasonal tours i.e., the Winter Sun tour. Aircraft tours will be valid for 18 months and consolidated into aircraft families, for example E-Jets, etc.
• Tours will be re-organised with those ending first at the top left of each category.
• New Pilot, Regional, Themed tours will be limited to 8 tours per section.
• Majority of tours will have no more than 20 legs, again a common request from pilots.
• We will focus on short-haul routes for most tours, especially with the monthly tours.
• In the Autumn we will introduce a new tour category called ‘Second chance’ or something similar where we will re-activate popular tours for an additional 3 months to enable you to finish a tour.
• We will do our best to schedule the tours in such a matter that and on average two to three tours ends and new tours starts every month.
• A common request was to add bonus points once a tour is completed. Due to the limitations of the points system, this is not currently possible.

To enable you to earn extra points we will introduce a new monthly focus flight, which will be a leg on the monthly tour. Additionally, we will introduce one-off events to earn extra points, e.g. flights into EDDF on one day of the month (weekends) to receive bonus points.

All these changes will be implemented over the summer and should be ready by the start of September.

As always let us know what you think of these changes.

Closing words

As always if you have any suggestions please let us know.

We would also like to remind you we have a Discord server. To join it, use discord.gg/gUTREjv.

Hello Pilots,

General Update

We are currently reducing schedules to and from Russia We are currently reducing schedules to and from Russia as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the sanctions implemented. Any future restrictions, or loosening of restrictions will also be implemented. This includes likely fleet reductions regarding leased aircraft in Russia, which are to be returned to their lessor by March 28th. To fully implement these schedule changes may take a few days, and if we miss any do please let us know. This will affect a number of tours, we will be reworking these in the coming days to allow for their completion. If you have any questions regarding this do not hesitate to let us know via support ticket, forum post or our discord.

Closed airspaces

Current scheduled flight time durations may need to be amended due to longer flying times on account of closed airspace. Exceeding the listed scheduled flight time for this reason is expected and not an issue. If your flight is given a remark incorrectly please let us know via support ticket.

You can find more information about which airspaces are closed and how the civil aviation situation is developing at this FlightRadar24 page. Please try and adhere to these closures when performing flights on the VA.

Airline updates

Wingo, subsidiary of Copa Airlines, has been added to the VA. Further expanding the South- and Latin America network.

Tour updates

We are working on a number of tour updates, along with the aforementioned tours, to keep tours fresh. For more information and to share your thoughts on how you would like to see tours developed please check the forum post here.

Closing words

As always if you have any suggestions please let us know.

We would also like to remind you we have a Discord server. To join it, use discord.gg/gUTREjv.

Hello Pilots,

First of all happy new year and we wish you all the best in 2022! This news update brings some more airline news and development updates.

Airline News

We are working on a restructuring of the Lufthansa group to better mirror their real-life structure. This will initially encompass a rework of all Lufthansa Group fleets, including subsidiary Lufthansa Cityline. Pending other developments Virgin Australia's ties to Delta will move to United Airlines in April 2022, and this airline will be moved to Star Alliance virtual then. Air China subsidiary Tibet Airlines, and Juneyao Airlines subsidiary 9 Air have been added this month to provide more route options throughout Asia.

We will as always do our best to mirror real-world developments and things may change in the coming months.

Development Updates

We are working on a rework of the booking page to provide a better, simplified experience when booking flights. This will include a rework of the current booking page, as well as back-end changes that will enable us to more easily switch between summer and winter flying season's. Hopefully lessing the delay in updating routes in the future.

The VAS ACARS native X-Plane support and support for Linux and macOS are currently undergoing testing and we hope to launch these features in the coming weeks.

This month also launches the discord screenshot contest, where you will get the chance to submit and vote on the best screenshots from fellow pilots.

Tour updates

The monthly tour takes you across the India. A number of tours are currently in the process of being reworked and for more updates on retiring tours please check the Event and Tours section on the homepage.

Closing words

As always if you have any suggestions please let us know.

We would also like to remind you we have a Discord server. To join it, use discord.gg/gUTREjv.

Hi Pilots,

This month brings a number of VA updates, which are detailed below.

Tour updates

This month brings a new tour, the Aegean- Olympic tour, taking you from Athens throughout Greece and the rest of Europe. The Discovery Tour series is also completed, a chance to fly to through our most popular airports on all continents.

The monthly tour takes you across the continental United States, through some of the busiest airports.

Native SimConnect support in VAS ACARS

The latest version of VAS-ACARS has native SimConnect support. This means it is not required to use FSUIPC anymore if you are using a FSX-based simulator, including Microsoft Flight Simulator. If you encounter any issues using FSUIPC to record or you would like simply like to use one less program in your simulator, you can change to recording using SimConnect.

To switch to SimConnect, open VAS ACARS and click the cog wheel in the top-right hand of VAS-ACARS. Click on Use for SimConnect, the change is applied immediately. The method is also shown in the video below.

The next features we are working on inside VAS ACARS are native X-Plane support and support for Linux and macOS.

Closing words

As always if you have any suggestions please let us know.

We would also like to remind you we have a Discord server. To join it, use discord.gg/gUTREjv.

Hello Pilots,

Unfortunately due to the failed acquistions of Condor by LOT Polish Airlines and Air Transat by Air Canada respectively, these airlines will be leaving the VA on the 1st of July 2021. This will mean that a number of tours and the route network will unfortunately be affected. We are working on renewing our tours to minimize the impact of this transition. All affected tours will be discontinued by July 1st. Star Alliance joint venture partner Azul Brazilian Airlines will be added to the VA before this date.

In the mean time if you have any suggestions, regarding tours or otherwise please let us know in the forums.