Today, Independent developer Chris Kuhn, founder of Casey Jones Labs, announced his spiritual successor to the Aerobiz series, SkyChart: Airline Executive, is officially landing on Steam Early Access in Q2 2026.
SkyChart: Airline Executive puts players in the role of a global CEO, focusing on macro strategy by tasking players with navigating diplomatic tensions, managing era-specific fleets, and surviving a century of real-world history, including world wars, oil crises, and global pandemics. This is all done in a PvE environment, as you’ll need to outmaneuver over 35 ruthless AI rivals in order to claim victory.
You’ll advance through four distinct historical eras (1930–2020), each with unique economic challenges and technological breakthroughs, and command 33 legendary aircraft, including the DC-3, 707, and A380, with realistic maintenance cycles and retirement penalties. Players will experience over 60 scripted historical events and natural disasters throughout the simulator’s dynamic world, and build routes between 150 real-world cities across 7 regions, using Great Circle routing and realistic geographic profiles.
When talking about the title, Kuhn referred to his love of the Aerobiz series and how he hoped to bring its gameplay to a more modern platform and audience:
“I’ve wanted to play a modern version of the grand-strategy airline sims I grew up with for 30 years,” said Kuhn. “SkyChart is built for the players who want to manage a global empire, not just a single terminal. It’s about the evolution of flight—from the DC-3 and the Constellation to the 747 and the A380—and the strategic grit it takes to keep an airline profitable across nine decades.”
The simulator is even optimized for data-driven decisions with performance dashboards, sparkline charts, and full controller/Steam Deck support.
SkyChart: Airline Executive is currently available as a playable Alpha on itch.io; the upcoming Steam Early Access release will introduce refined tutorial systems, professional QA, and Steam-specific features such as Achievements and Cloud Saves. If you’re still on the hunt for more flight simulation and strategy content, be sure to check out the rest of Simulation Daily.
