MSFS 2024 Career Mode Fleet Guide: When to Buy, What to Buy, and What to Avoid

Your first aircraft purchase in MSFS 2024 career mode is 90% off. Your second one isn't. If you don't understand what that means before you start buying planes, you're going to waste hundreds of thousands of credits and spend the next thirty hours digging yourself out of a hole.

This guide is the aircraft progression plan. It covers what to buy, when to buy it, and the handful of planes you should avoid entirely. If you're still figuring out how career mode works, start with the main career mode guide. If you're trying to understand why you're always broke, the money guide covers that. This guide assumes you understand the basics and you're ready to make smart purchase decisions.

The 90% Discount: Career Mode's Most Important Mechanic

When you start your first company, your very first aircraft purchase gets a 90% discount. This isn't subtle — it's the single biggest financial advantage you'll get in the entire career mode, and misusing it will set you back enormously.

The Cessna 172 Skyhawk costs 499,800 credits at full price. With the 90% first-aircraft discount, it drops to roughly 25,950 credits. That's an insane deal. You're getting a functional cargo and ferry aircraft for less than some certification costs.

But here's the trap most new players fall into: they sell it.

If you sell your discounted C172, used replacements on the marketplace start at 250,000+ credits. You just turned a 25,950 credit investment into a 250,000+ credit problem. That's close to a soft-lock for early-game players who don't have that kind of cash lying around.

Rule number one: never sell your first plane. It's the cheapest aircraft you'll ever own, and it generates income from day one. Even when you've moved on to turboprops and jets, that little 172 can still fly crew missions and generate passive income.

Don't Waste the Discount on Flightseeing

This is the second part of the trap. A Flightseeing company licence costs 1,000 credits. A Cargo company licence costs 10,000 credits. Many new players think "I'll start cheap with Flightseeing, get my feet wet." Sounds reasonable. It's not.

The 90% discount applies to your first aircraft in your first company. A Flightseeing licence is 1,000 credits — basically free. But a Cargo licence is 10,000 credits, and Cargo missions are where the real money is. If you blow your 90% discount on a Flightseeing company, you'll eventually need to start a Cargo company anyway, and you'll be buying your next aircraft at full price.

Start Cargo. Use the discount on the C172. Thank me later.

The Full Company Licence Cost Breakdown

Before we talk aircraft, you need to understand what companies cost to start. These are one-time licence fees:

Company Type	Licence Cost
Flightseeing	1,000
Cargo	10,000
Skydive	20,000
VIP Charter	25,000
Aerial Advertising	35,000
Search and Rescue	40,000
Medevac	50,000
Agricultural	70,000
Firefighting	100,000
Passenger	150,000
Aerial Construction	200,000

Notice the jump. Getting into Passenger operations costs 150,000 just for the licence — before you've bought a single aircraft. And that aircraft is going to cost millions. This is why the progression path matters so much: you need to build wealth with cheaper operations before you can afford the expensive ones.

Certification Costs: What You'll Spend Before You Buy Anything

Aircraft purchases are the big-ticket items, but certifications quietly drain your account if you're not strategic about the order you get them:

Certification	Cost
PPL	2,000
CPL	2,500
Night Rating	7,500
Instrument Rating	10,000
Tailwheel	5,000
High Performance	5,000
Multi-Engine	15,000
Turboprop	20,000
Jet Engine	30,000
ATPL	40,000
Turboprop Airline	50,000
Jet Airline	100,000
Heavy Airliner	250,000

That's over 400,000 credits if you buy everything. You don't need everything at once. Get your PPL (2,000) and CPL (2,500) first — they're mandatory. Then prioritise based on what you're actually flying. Don't grab Jet Engine (30,000) when you can't afford a jet.

Specialization Unlock Levels

You can't just buy any company whenever you want. Specializations unlock as you level up:

Specialization	Unlock Level
Ferry	3
Flightseeing	5
Skydive	8
Cargo Light	10
Cargo Medium	25
VIP Charter	45
Passenger Airliner	50

This means you'll be doing ferry and light cargo work for a long time before anything else opens up. That's fine — those are your wealth-building phases. Don't rush through them mentally while you're grinding them out practically.

The Aircraft Progression That Actually Works

Here's the step-by-step path from zero to a fleet that pays for itself. Every aircraft recommendation is based on purchase price, earning potential, and how quickly it breaks even.

Phase 1: Employee Mode (Levels 1-10)

You start with 5,000 credits. That's enough for your PPL (2,000) and CPL (2,500), with 500 left over. You're broke. That's fine.

Fly as an employee. You don't own an aircraft, you don't pay for fuel or maintenance, and you earn a steady income. This phase is about building cash and experience points, not about buying things.

Target: save at least 35,000 credits before your first company purchase. That gives you 10,000 for the Cargo licence, around 26,000 for the discounted C172, and a small buffer for fuel and maintenance.

Phase 2: Your First Company (Levels 10-25)

Start a Cargo company (10,000). Buy the C172 with your 90% discount (~25,950). You're now a business owner with a functional light cargo aircraft and hopefully a few thousand credits in reserve.

Fly light cargo missions. Protect your No Skip streak (explained in the money guide — skipping missions tanks your earnings by roughly 85%). The C172 isn't glamorous, but it's paid for itself within a couple of hours of flying. Everything after that is profit.

During this phase, start saving for endorsements you'll need later. Get Tailwheel (5,000) if you want access to aircraft like the Draco X. Get High Performance (5,000) and Turboprop (20,000) when you can afford them — they unlock the aircraft that will carry you through the mid-game.

Phase 3: The Turboprop Jump (Levels 25-45)

This is where career mode opens up. You've unlocked Cargo Medium at level 25, and you need a bigger aircraft. It's also where your physical hardware starts to matter. A basic joystick got you through the C172 phase, but turboprops and jets benefit from a proper yoke or sidestick. A Honeycomb Alpha yoke paired with a Honeycomb Bravo throttle gives you dual levers, a gear switch, flap controls, and a trim wheel — all things you'll use constantly as your fleet grows. For Airbus operators, the Thrustmaster TCA Officer Pack is the Airbus-specific equivalent. For the full hardware comparison, see the best hardware guide.

Your targets:

C208B Grand Caravan (~2.3-4M used) — This is the workhorse that bridges the gap between single-engine piston flying and serious commercial operations. It carries more cargo, flies faster, and unlocks medium cargo missions that pay 500K-1M each. Those payouts are transformative. A few good medium cargo runs and you've covered the purchase price.

After the Grand Caravan, your next step depends on your cash situation:

PC-24 (~6.5M used) — This is the recommended mid-game upgrade. It handles VIP charter and medium cargo beautifully, and it's versatile enough to keep busy across multiple job types.

PC-12 (~5.5M used) — Cheaper than the PC-24, but comes with a known bug: avoid flying it above FL200. If you can live with that altitude restriction, it's a solid turboprop. If you want to fly higher routes, skip it and save for the PC-24.

CJ4 — After SU4 rebalanced the economy, the CJ4 dropped to roughly a quarter of its pre-SU4 price. It's a legitimate option for charter work now, whereas before it was overpriced for what it earned.

Phase 4: Fleet Building and Passive Income (Levels 45+)

Once you've got a couple of capable aircraft, you can start thinking about fleet operations. Assign aircraft to crew and they'll generate passive income while you fly something else.

The economics of passive income vary by aircraft:

• Small aircraft (C172, Draco X, C400): Return roughly 2.1-2.2% of purchase price per flight hour. Break even in about 46 hours. That's fast.
• Mid-range (Caravan, PC-24): Return around 1.5% per hour. Longer break-even but higher absolute earnings.
• 737 MAX: Earns 718,432 credits per hour passively, but that's only 0.7% of its ~99M purchase price. Break-even takes forever.

The math is clear: small planes break even fastest. If your goal is passive income efficiency, a fleet of cheap aircraft outperforms a single expensive one. But if you want to fly the big stuff yourself while your fleet earns in the background, a mix of small passive-income planes and one or two premium aircraft you personally fly is the sweet spot.

One critical detail: crew aircraft accumulate wear. They need maintenance just like aircraft you fly yourself. Factor that into your profitability calculations, because a crew plane you never maintain is a crew plane that's going to cost you a fortune when its parts hit "Out of Order" status.

For the full breakdown, see the passive income guide.

Phase 5: Endgame (Level 50+)

At level 50 you unlock Passenger Airliner specialization. The 737 MAX costs ~99M credits. If that sounds like a lot, it is. But by the time you're level 50, you should have a fleet generating passive income and enough experience to evaluate whether the investment makes sense for your operation.

The Longitude is worth mentioning here. Pre-SU4 it cost 34.5M — now it's 6-7M. That's a massive price drop that makes it a viable stepping stone between turboprops and the 737.

Best Aircraft by Specialization

Here's the quick-reference for what to fly in each category:

Specialization	Progression
Ferry / Flightseeing	C172, then Bonanza G36
Cargo Light	C172, then C208B Grand Caravan
Cargo Medium	C208B, then PC-12, then PC-24
Charter Private	Vision Jet G2, then CJ4
Charter VIP	PC-24 or CJ4
Passenger Airliner	A310, then 737 MAX (note: the Heavy Airliner certification is still locked as of March 2026, so the A310 cannot currently be used in career mode)

Notice the C172 and C208B appear multiple times. They're not exciting, but they're the backbone of a profitable operation. Resist the urge to skip them.

Aircraft to Avoid

Not every aircraft in the marketplace is worth buying. Some are overpriced for what they earn, some have bugs, and some just don't have enough job availability to justify the investment:

• ES-30 — Poor job availability and questionable ROI. Your money is better spent elsewhere.
• Saab 340 — Same problem. Not enough missions to keep it busy, and the operating costs don't justify the occasional payout.
• King Air 350i — Looks like a sensible turboprop upgrade on paper, but the community consensus is that better options exist at similar price points.
• Large helicopters — Unless you specifically want to run SAR or Aerial Construction and you've done the math, most large helicopters are money pits. The missions exist, but the operating costs are brutal and the earning potential doesn't compensate.

If an aircraft isn't on the recommended progression list above, test it before you buy it. Fly a few jobs in something similar, run the ROI calculation from the best aircraft guide, and make sure the numbers work before committing.

Maintenance: The Hidden Fleet Killer

Every aircraft needs maintenance every 25 flight hours. This applies to your personal aircraft and your crew-operated fleet. The costs vary by component and aircraft type, but the key thing to understand is the escalation mechanic.

Parts have condition levels. As long as a part is above "Out of Order" status, the maintenance cost stays relatively consistent. But once a part degrades to "Out of Order," the repair cost jumps significantly. Don't let parts get there.

Some reference costs to give you a sense of scale:

• C172 landing gear damage: ~16,660 credits
• 737 MAX engine repair: 5-11M credits per engine
• Aircraft washing: 600 credits
• Repainting: 19,992 credits

That 737 engine number is not a typo. A single engine repair can cost more than most players' entire net worth when they first start eyeing the 737. This is why the 737's 718,432 credits per hour passive income sounds impressive until you realize a bad landing or deferred maintenance can wipe out dozens of hours of earnings in one repair bill.

Important tip: Don't delegate maintenance blindly. When you open the maintenance screen, drill down to specific parts rather than hitting the "fix everything" button. Delegated maintenance wastes money by replacing parts that don't need replacing yet. Check each system individually and only repair what's actually degraded.

Insurance: Costs You're Probably Not Tracking

Insurance is charged on the aircraft you personally fly — not your entire fleet. Your crew-operated planes don't incur insurance costs, which is one reason passive income is more profitable than it might first appear.

Your reputation tier affects insurance premiums:

• S-tier reputation: 25% discount
• A-tier reputation: 20% discount
• Mid-tier: Roughly 6,730 credits per flight hour with no discount

Build your reputation and the savings compound over time. On a 737, the difference between mid-tier and S-tier insurance is substantial over dozens of flight hours.

A couple of known bugs to watch for: insurance costs have been reported to compound unexpectedly in some scenarios, and the highest coverage tier sometimes displays 0% coverage. If something looks wrong with your insurance costs, it might actually be wrong. Check the forums for the latest known issues before assuming you've miscalculated.

The Full Progression Checklist

Here's everything in order, from your first credit to a self-sustaining fleet:

1. Start in employee mode. Fly jobs, earn credits, build XP. Target 35,000+ credits before starting a company.
2. Get PPL (2,000) and CPL (2,500) first. Everything else can wait.
3. Start a Cargo company (10,000). Not Flightseeing. Cargo.
4. Buy the C172 with your 90% discount (~25,950). Never sell it.
5. Fly light cargo. Protect your No Skip streak. Build cash steadily.
6. Get Tailwheel (5,000) and High Performance (5,000) endorsements as you can afford them.
7. Save for Turboprop certification (20,000) and then the C208B Grand Caravan (~2.3-4M).
8. Unlock Cargo Medium at level 25. Medium cargo missions (500K-1M each) are where real wealth building starts.
9. Upgrade to PC-24 (~6.5M) or CJ4 for charter and VIP work as those specializations unlock.
10. Build a passive income fleet. Small aircraft first for fastest break-even. Maintain them regularly.
11. Save for the 737 MAX (~99M) if passenger airline operations are your goal. This is endgame content.

Final Thoughts

The players who do well in career mode are the ones who treat it like an actual business. Every purchase is an investment, every aircraft either earns its keep or gets cut, and the boring early-game grind in a C172 is what funds the exciting late-game flying in a 737.

Don't rush it. Don't sell your discounted first plane. Don't buy aircraft because they look cool in the marketplace. Run the numbers, follow the progression, and let compound growth do its thing.

And if you want to go deeper on any of these topics:

• Career Mode Guide — licences, checkrides, career paths, and the full progression from student pilot to ATPL
• Best Aircraft Guide — ROI calculations, which planes to buy at each licence level, and the fleet-building framework
• Money Guide — the No Skip bonus, freelancing tips, and how to stop haemorrhaging credits
• Passive Income Guide — crew operations and building a fleet that earns while you fly