The Art of ROTWs: Tips, Tricks, and Statistics!

Routes of the Week or ROTW is a weekly number of routes showcasing the VA/VO's routes to destinations. In some VA's this is done based on where the active ATC is. In other VA's, it is based on awesome destinations that are a must-try for pilots. However a VA/VO decides to run their ROTW's, this blog article is here to help show some tips, tricks, and actual statistics on how different types of ROTW's affect your VA/VO. Statistics: After numerous surveys, data analysis, and testing of different theories, this is real-life statistics on how ROTW's affect your VA/VO. ROTW in a VO (Virtual Organization) After testing with 2 undisclosed IFVARB-Approved VO's, I have found the following statistics on ROTW's.

As you can see, the data speaks for itself. With over 3/4 of the VO's members loving the ROTW, and a whopping 31% of all flights logged were ROTW, there is no hiding the fact that ROTW's make these VO's among the best, and boost their organization as a whole.

ROTW in a VA (Virtual Airline) After testing with 3 undisclosed IFVARB-Approved Virtual Airlines, I have found the following statistics on ROTW's.

Once again, the data shows an impressive appreciation for ROTW's. With nearly 1/2 of all filed flights being ROTW's (All 3 VA's had over 10,000 logged hours), and over 80% liking the VA better with a ROTW, there is ample evidence that ROTW's make pilots want to fly for your VA and it really increases pilot activity! Tips and Tricks for creating ROTW's As we see in the data, ROTW's are vital to a VA/VO's success. Below are 6 tips and tricks I have learned after making 57 weeks of Featured Routes for VA's. 1: Pick routes that line up with the IFATC schedule. - While I understand not all pilots are comfortable with flying in IFATC environments, the majority of pilots head to hubs, and IFATC controlled regions daily. When you include IFATC scheduled airports in your ROTW you are allowing 2 awesome things to happen for your VA/VO. 1) You are having pilots that were already planning on flying to the IFATC hub fly for your VA. This makes them log a flight thus increasing your activity and overall VA/VO hours. 2) You are basically advertising your VA/VO for free! Most VA/VO's require a callsign when flying for them. Being a normal pilot and seeing tags such as DLVA, BAVA, AAVA, CAVA, daily at controlled airports makes me want to join those organizations! 2: Diversify your routes - If you are anything like me, you are in more than 1 VA/VO. This means when it comes time to pick a flight, I have to choose who I want to fly for. 9/10 times I will go through all the ROTW's and pick the coolest/unique/awesome route I can find. Having boring routes like KEWR-KIAD or KJFK-EGLL every time those airports are featured, or multiple weeks in a row can be boring for your pilots. Try to pick unique routes that make you VA/VO's ROTW stand out from everyone else's. You will see a boost in pilot activity! 3: Have lots of choices - While the tip above was about making your VA/VO unique from others and from week-to-week, this tip ensures you have something to fulfill every pilot's needs. Having 5-10 options every day is a great standard to have for a ROTW. Pilots want a lot of choices. If they see the world open to them from your VA or VO, they may see a route they really love and fly it again in the future! Having lot's of routes to pick from also greatens your chances that pilots will fly for your VA/VO! 4: Formatting! - Too many times I will be in a VA/VO that has ROTW formatting so bad/confusing/overwhelming, that I just give up and fly for another VA/VO. There are 5 major aspects to formatting/information you should include within the ROTW. 1) Include an ICAO-ICAO. This will help show the pilot what route they are flying. Flag emoji's or other symbols help spruce up this! 2) The Flight Number. More times than not, pilots want to see the real information from the real-world flight. A flight number helps them with this! 3) Flight Time. Flight time is among the most important pieces of information to have. When I have time for a 2:00 flight, and I see a VA that has a ROTW for a 1:45 flight, I know that I have time to fly it, this giving me and the VA more hours and activity. All too often I see a VA/VO without this piece of information. It is important! 4) Aircraft. Having the aircraft that the flight is operated by also boosts interest in the flight! Seeing that the flight is on the brand-new 777-200LR increases my chances of wanting to fly this route! 5) Include the Airline the flight is operated by! If you are like my VA, CAVA, you probably have codeshares that boost your ROTW flights. Including what airline each route is flown by also increases interest! Whether the pilot likes it because it is a new airline they have never tried before or a favorite airline they always fly, people love it when you include what airline it is being operated by. Very fun! 5: Leave the generic planes for other flights! - ROTW's should be an exciting display of your VA/VO. Having routes constantly in the Generic Aircraft livery lowers the number of interested pilots. VA/VO pilots generally do not like flying in the generic livery, it has no personality to it. ROTW's should be a fun getaway for your pilots! 6: Include a Multiplier! - In all the VA/VO's I have tested, most of them offer a flight multiplier for flying a ROTW flight. This can be anything from a 1.5x multiplier to an x5 multiplier or even beyond! Giving a multiplier for larger groups of pilots or for special occasions also boosts VA/VO participation and interest! As you can see, a ROTW really helps your VA/VO in terms of activity and participation, serves as an advertising beacon, and provides positivity throughout the whole VA/VO community. If you have any questions please comment down below! Until the next time, J-ARRETT!