Chapter 160: Extend the runway! 737-900X!
When purchasing aircraft, especially large passenger aircraft, installment payment is a common option if the quantity is large. However, buying a single aircraft requires installment payment, and the payment is paid off over ten years. This precedent has never been seen in any aircraft manufacturer, let alone Boeing, which is extremely strong in the seller's market.
You know, the lifespan of a 737 in passenger transport is only a dozen years. When the model is old enough, it is usually sold to cargo airlines to transport goods.
In this way, Xu Cang basically intends to use almost the entire passenger life of the aircraft to repay the purchase price, which is really outrageous.
"What about the interest rate?" Li Rongcheng asked carefully.
"What interest rate? What kind of relationship do we have? Talking about interest is so hurtful." Xu Cang put his arm around Li Rongcheng's shoulders. If you weren't someone who knew the inside story, you would think they were good brothers. Xu Cang raised a finger: "Just one fight, one fight!"
Li Rongcheng's face was blue and purple. Indeed, Xu Cang paid the money, but how was this different from being a prostitute? He had to pay it back in ten years, and it was interest-free. How could Xu Cang have the nerve to say such a thing?
But Xu Cang was too important to Boeing at least for now, and Li Rongcheng didn't dare to reject him directly. After thinking it over, Li Rongcheng spread out his five fingers and said, "It's too much to pay in ten years for just one plane. Five years, one installment per year, and pay it off in five installments. This is my bottom line."
Little did he know that Xu Cang didn't even think about it and grabbed Li Rongcheng's hand: "Deal, deal, hahaha! When will the contract be signed and when can the plane come in?"
Li Rongcheng pulled his hand away in disgust: "Why do I feel like you said it was intentional when you said it would be a ten-year split?"
A thinker once said that people always like to compromise. For example, if you say that the room is too dark and you need to open a window here, everyone will definitely not allow it. But if you say that you want to remove the roof, they will be willing to open the window.
"How could I do that on purpose? I really don't have any money." Xu Cang said with a playful smile: "There is one more thing. If you can, please help me."
Li Rongcheng pointed at Xu Cang and said, "Don't go too far, you are pushing it too far."
“It’s not too much to ask.”
Li Rongcheng didn't quite believe it: "Tell me?"
"You can see from my poor place that we will definitely go the route of low-cost airlines in the future. But if we talk about the originator of the low-cost airline model, it has to be Southwest Airlines. So I hope you can introduce it to us and let us send someone to Southwest Airlines to do some research."
Although Xu Cang knew some of the operating concepts of low-cost airlines with the help of his later experiences, he was not a business manager after all, and he still did not understand many details.
Since there are some things that have not been fully understood, they naturally need to be supplemented. However, Xu Cang does not intend to stay at home and think about them, but to learn from outside.
The low-cost airline model is still relatively rare in this era, but it is definitely not the first to be created by Xu Cang. If we talk about the founder of low-cost airlines, it is Southwest Airlines of the United States.
Relying on the low-cost airline model, it has created a myth of continuous profitability for 33 years. In the spirit of learning from the best, Xu Cang certainly hopes to learn from the Southwest Airlines of the United States.
However, although corporate exchanges are considered normal business activities, Xu Cang is now an ant-sized airline in China, so why would Southwest Airlines care about him? So Li Rongcheng had to help build a bridge.
After all, Li Rongcheng is a senior executive at Boeing. It is not too much to ask for help in introducing him and getting a research opportunity.
"Corporate research, I'm scared to death." Li Rongcheng was relieved when he heard Xu Cang's words. This was really not a big deal: "This favor is a personal favor. I can help you make connections. But who are you going to send? Your people can go for research, but they may not teach you everything. How much they can learn depends on their understanding."
This type of corporate research requires sending someone who is smart enough, otherwise it will be a purely funded trip and you will learn nothing.
"The candidate." Xu Cang raised his head and pointed at the entrance of the yard: "She is the one."
"Who?" Li Rongcheng turned around and glanced at the gate of the courtyard, just in time to see Shi Qi and his daughter coming in dragging large and small bags.
As soon as Shi Lingling entered the yard, she realized that Xu Cang seemed to be pointing at her, and asked in confusion: "Xu Cang, are you pointing at me?"
"Yes, I have a great thing to give you." Xu Cang stood up, walked to the gate of the courtyard, and helped Shi Qi and Shi Lingling carry things.
Shi Lingling was not shy. She handed all the luggage in her hands to Xu Cang, glanced at Li Rongcheng who was still sitting, and asked, "What's the good news?"
"Let's go to the United States to do some research." Xu Cang nodded at Li Rongcheng: "I have an introducer. Let's go to the southwest of the United States. Is that ok?"
Shi Lingling pointed at herself and said, "Me? There's no problem with research. I've been there many times before. But I'm supposed to be in charge of the marketing department. If I go to research, won't I be needed here?"
"Now there is only one plane and one route. Do we need a marketing department?" Xu Cang said with a smile: "If you want to stay here, you can be a lone commander here."
"Only...no one in charge? What do you mean, I'm the only one in the marketing department now?" Shi Lingling looked at Xu Cang in disbelief, then looked around and suddenly became furious: "I felt something was wrong when I first came in. This yard is just like playing house, it doesn't look like an airline at all. Now you asked me to come here, but you didn't send anyone to me, are you kidding me?"
Shi Qi patted Shi Lingling's head and said, "Lingling, don't worry. Xu Cang must have made arrangements."
"There are definitely no people now, but we are recruiting, and I think there will be people soon." Xu Cang said sincerely: "No one in China has ever taken the low-cost and cheap route. I have some general ideas, but when it comes to the specific level, I don't have much confidence, so I need you to go to the southwest of the United States."
Qin Xin and Shi Lingling are the only ones who speak the best English in the base, but Qin Xin needs to stay at the base and definitely can't leave. Moreover, Shi Lingling had a lot of experience in investigation and research when she was in the bureau, and she was very familiar with the process, so it was definitely the most appropriate for her to go.
"Since we are researching the low-cost airline model, why not go to Southwest Airlines in the US and go to EasyJet in the UK?" Shi Lingling was still nitpicking: "EasyJet has been established for five years and also has a low-cost operating philosophy. Isn't it doing very well now?"
Xu Cang saw through Shi Lingling's thoughts at a glance: "You don't want to go to the United States, you want to go to the United Kingdom, right? Do you really think of this as a public-funded tour? Our base is not even an airline. If I tell you, eleven out of ten people won't know about it. Why would EasyJet let us do research? We have a connection with Southwest America, do you have a connection with EasyJet in the UK? If you do, I don't care anyway."
Shi Lingling muttered, "So you also know what's going on."
Shi Lingling originally thought that Xu Cang was planning something earth-shattering, but he ended up setting up a small workshop in this mountain valley. It's not that Shi Lingling looked down on Xu Cang's hard work, but there was still a big gap between her expectations and it was a bit disappointing.
However, if we can grow this sapling into a towering tree, it would be something to be proud of.
"That person is a Boeing executive, and he is easy to talk to in the United States. I can't do anything about EasyJet in the UK. If you want to go there, you have to figure it out yourself."
Shi Lingling snorted: "Forget it, let's go to the southwest of the United States. If I had known earlier, I wouldn't have rushed here and would have set off directly from Hanjing."
If you go to the United States, you will most likely have to take a plane from Hanjing. So Shi Lingling has to go back and forth.
"This time I'll just come here to meet my future colleagues." Xu Cang said to Shi Qi with a smile, "Teacher, I thought it would take you another day or two to complete the formalities."
Shi Qi said with a smile: "It's a secondment, so the process will be much faster."
Now that Shi Qi has changed his aircraft type, his work relationship is still with Guoda Airlines. He came to Xu Cang's side on secondment. The main reason is that Erhai Base has not yet become independent, and Shi Qi does not want to transfer to Blue Sky Airlines, so he simply stays with Guoda Airlines.
When Xu Cang established an independent airline, Shi Qi would transfer his work relationship to him. Since Guoda Airlines had some shares in Blue Sky Airlines, the internal transfer process was relatively simple, which was why Shi Qi was able to come so quickly.
"Well, teacher, let's find a room to put down our luggage first, and then go eat."
As he spoke, Xu Cang led Shi Qi to the dormitory building first.
However, Shi Qi grabbed Xu Cang, took out a photo from his pocket and handed it to Xu Cang: "Wu Taiming asked me to give it to you."
Xu Cang took it and looked at the photo. There was a man and a woman in the photo. The man was naturally Wu Taiming, and the woman was a girl with a ponytail who looked heroic.
The girl was only half a head shorter than Wu Taiming and had a confident smile on her face. In contrast, Wu Taiming next to her looked a little restrained.
"Wu Taiming asked me to thank you." Shi Qi came over and said, "He said he has some things to do in Qizhou. He will come to see you after he finishes it."
Xu Cang carefully examined the appearance of the girl in the photo and found that she was very similar to Wu Taiming's wife in later generations. It seemed that Wu Taiming had indeed found his true love with his guidance.
Although he did not bring Wu Taiming with him when he was in Shanhang due to some things, Xu Cang was happy for him when he saw that his brother finally found his other half.
"Well, no hurry, no hurry."
Xu Cang laughed out loud, feeling very happy. He had gotten a plane from Boeing at a discount, and now Teacher Shi Qi was here, and Wu Taiming had also found his life partner. It was a triple blessing.
"Rongcheng, don't leave today. Let's have dinner here tonight."
Li Rongcheng rarely saw Xu Cang so happy, or maybe he was infected by the cheerful atmosphere here, Li Rongcheng did not refuse, but nodded with a smile: "Then I will have a free meal."
…
After choosing a house for Shi Qi and his daughter, Xu Cang took Shi Qi and Shi Lingling for a walk around the area and briefly explained the situation of the base. Shi Qi didn't care. He was from the army and had experienced all kinds of hardships. On the contrary, he felt that the interpersonal relationships in the base were simple and comfortable. When Shi Lingling heard that even daily necessities could only be purchased regularly, her face immediately fell. However, she only complained a few words and didn't say much.
Since Xu Cang planned to drink tonight, he decided not to fly tomorrow, and the crew of tomorrow's flight did not come down. After the final call, although the atmosphere at dinner was lively, there were actually not many people.
Xu Cang, Qin Xin, Shi Qi and his daughter, Li Rongcheng, and several ground personnel.
Qin Xin and she were sitting together at first, but as the men at the table continued to toast each other, the topics they discussed became more and more grand, and the women at the table became bored, so the women gathered together to talk in private, while the men started to raise their voices as they drank one glass after another.
"Xu Cang, I'm not trying to belittle you, but with your talent, it's really a waste of talent to stay here. It's a great waste of talent." Maybe he was a little drunk, and Li Rongcheng's words were a little liar: "Why don't you come with me to the United States? There, I can at least guarantee that you can live an upper-class life. What's wrong with that?"
Shi Qi had a very good alcohol tolerance. When Xu Cang and Li Rongcheng were both getting drunk, Shi Qi was still sipping his wine in an orderly manner, without any sign of confusion at all.
But when he heard Li Rongcheng say that he wanted to bring Xu Cang to the United States, Shi Qi's face first showed a hint of surprise, then he put down his wine glass and looked solemn.
"Going to America? To be honest, if I didn't know you had no ill intentions, I would have wanted to call you an idiot." Xu Cang began to speak without restraint.
However, in this era, the word "Shabi" has not been widely circulated. Li Rongcheng scratched his head and said, "What does "Shabi" mean? Why do I feel that it is not a good word?"
"Don't worry about whether it's a nice word or not. You know I was born in this country and will stay in this country all my life. Yes, it can't compare to the United States now, so I will go and build it. One day, people here won't yearn for foreign countries." Xu Cang got so excited that he accidentally bit his tongue. The pain almost made him cry.
Shi Qi was standing by and watching Xu Cang, whose eyelids were beginning to droop, and he was suddenly extremely glad that he had chosen to follow Xu Cang.
I don't know why, but it seemed to have touched Li Rongcheng's heart. His eyes suddenly turned red and he said vaguely: "It would be great if my father had the same idea as you!"
Xu Cang slammed the table and said, "Then come back. I can see that you are different from your brother. You and we have the same blood, so why can't you come back?"
"My father immigrated to the United States and became an American citizen. I was born with American nationality. I don't care about this nationality, but I can't go back. It's too difficult to obtain Chinese nationality."
Speaking of this, Li Rongcheng was almost in tears.
It is very easy to give up your nationality, but it is extremely difficult to go back. It is said that it is difficult to obtain American nationality, but it is actually more difficult to obtain Chinese nationality.
China is not an immigration country, so the requirements for foreigners to obtain Chinese nationality are quite strict. Although Li Rongcheng is already a successful businessman, he can only obtain permanent residency at most, and he still has a long way to go to obtain naturalization.
The inability to return to Chinese nationality has almost become a thorn in Li Rongcheng's heart.
Why does Li Rongcheng and his half brother Li Rongxian have a bad relationship? Because Li Rongxian has been completely westernized and does not recognize the half of his blood. But Li Rongcheng still has his heart set on China, so he cannot stand Li Rongxian's words and deeds that belittle China.
When it comes to the issue of naturalization, Xu Cang could only pat Li Rongcheng on the shoulder. This was indeed a very difficult hurdle to cross.
Xu Cang laughed dryly twice, not knowing how the atmosphere turned to this, so he thought about changing the subject, but when he glanced at the door from the corner of his eye, he suddenly shuddered all over, and he was already half sober. He stood up suddenly and said, "Director Hu."
"Huh?" Li Rongcheng, a half-drunk guy, heard the noise and looked towards the door, and happened to see Hu Ming. He didn't know Hu Ming, but when he saw Xu Cang standing up, he also stood up in a daze and nodded to Hu Ming.
Hu Ming, who came alone, saw Xu Cang's red face, then looked at the messy plates and wine glasses on the small table, and said with a smile: "Little brother, I didn't disturb you."
"No, no, how could that be possible!" Xu Cang quickly invited Hu Ming in and pulled a small stool for Hu Ming to sit on: "Director Hu, this place is a bit shabby, don't mind."
Hu Ming looked around and said, "I was surprised to hear that you guys used this place as a base. I wonder if this place is too crude to be a base. I didn't expect you guys would actually stay here."
"The land for the new base has been approved, but we haven't had time to build it yet. We can only make do with it here for now. We will definitely have to move later." Xu Cang subconsciously prepared to pour wine for Hu Ming, but he put the bottle down mid-air and poured tea instead.
Hu Ming saw Xu Cang's little move and laughed: "Little brother, don't be so cautious. This is a private family gathering, there are not so many rules."
Upon hearing what Hu Ming said, Xu Cang immediately became happy. He poured out the tea and filled Hu Ming's glass with wine.
Hu Ming picked up the wine glass, took a sip, then looked at the label on the bottle, revealing a trace of nostalgia: "Yanghe Daqu, I haven't had wine from my hometown for a long time."
Strictly speaking, Yanghe Daqu is not considered a wine from Hu Ming's hometown. Although they are in the same province, the origin of Yanghe Daqu is different from that of Weiyang City in terms of prefecture-level city classification, even though the two are adjacent.
"I didn't expect there's wine from my hometown here." Xu Cang smiled and moved the side dishes in front of Hu Ming, and asked, "Director Hu, we have something to do these two days and can't leave. We were supposed to visit you, but we didn't expect to bother you to come over."
Hu Ming waved his hand: "It's all the same. You guys are busy, so I'll come over."
"However, Director Hu, you are from Weiyang, so how come you were transferred to the southwest all of a sudden? The distance is too far." Xu Cang asked curiously.
Hu Ming smiled and said, "You are also from Weiyang. Don't you know that Weiyang is a one-to-one support city for Erhai Lake?"
Xu Cang was stunned: "I didn't know there was such a relationship."
"It's normal that you don't know. If I hadn't been assigned here, I wouldn't know either." Hu Ming took another sip of wine: "I just came here for a walk. There is still a long way to go."
Shi Qi and Li Rongcheng, who were standing nearby, could tell that the middle-aged man was actually a local official. They had wanted to say something, but now they could only shut up and remain silent.
After the opening chat about old times, it’s time to get down to business. Since Hu Ming is here, it might be a shame not to talk about it.
Xu Cang tried his best to stay awake and asked softly, "Director Hu, the attendance rate of our trip from Yangcheng to Erhai Lake has been very high in the past two days, but I don't know when your subsidy policy will be implemented."
When Hu Ming heard Xu Cang say this, he smiled knowingly. He did not answer immediately, but glanced at Shi Qi, Li Rongcheng and others.
Xu Cang immediately understood and helped to introduce them: "This is Instructor Shi Qi, this is Li Rongcheng, a Boeing executive, and this is the ground administration staff of our base."
“I didn’t realize he was such a promising young executive at Boeing,” Hu Ming praised.
Li Rongcheng scratched his head embarrassedly : "Thank you for the compliment, thank you for the compliment."
Now that the identity of the person at the table had been confirmed, Hu Ming had no scruples. In fact, there was nothing to be scrupled about, as it did not involve any confidential information. It was just Hu Ming's habit.
"The fuel subsidy policy can be implemented within a week. This is the limit of what I can achieve now. The fiscal surplus here is not much, so we are naturally restricted in spending. But when you attract more passengers and prove your value, there will be subsequent preferential policies." Hu Ming thought for a while: "From the current fuel subsidies for some flights to fuel subsidies for all flights in the future, to additional landing subsidies for some flights, and finally to landing subsidies for all airlines. We have to take one step at a time and eat one bite at a time. I hope you understand."
How could Xu Cang ask for more? He was very grateful. This subsidy policy was really a timely help in the early stages of development.
"But, Director Hu, if we want to attract more people here, you have to improve the supporting facilities. For example, the frequency of the airport bus needs to be increased. One bus every two hours is too few."
Although Xu Cang was very enthusiastic and thought it was not a bad idea to let the crew car occasionally serve as the airport bus, he really couldn't hold back if he had to do this all the time.
Hu Ming blushed for a rare moment when he was talking about this. "Right now, the busiest time at the airport is when your flight lands. What I mean is that we should add a special flight for the landing time of your flight. This way, public expenditure will not increase much, and transportation needs can be basically guaranteed."
"This..." Although Xu Cang still felt that it was a bit petty, seeing that Hu Ming wanted to break a coin into two parts, he couldn't ask for more.
Since Director Hu has already set the time for the implementation of the policy, Xu Cang, under the influence of alcohol, suddenly became heroic and immediately patted Li Rongcheng, who was eating beside him, and said, "How quickly can you deliver the machine?"
"Ah, little brother, are you going to purchase airplanes?" Hu Ming had just swallowed a piece of braised pork when he heard Xu Cang and Li Rongcheng mention the delivery of the airplane. Even Hu Ming felt excited.
Xu Cang smiled and said, "Yes, with Mr. Li here, the goods are of good quality and low price."
When this was mentioned, Li Rongcheng's face darkened again: "It will probably take three years."
"Three...three years!?" Xu Cang, who was still a little drunk, shuddered, and beads of sweat suddenly appeared on his forehead, which immediately evaporated the remaining alcohol: "Three years, are you kidding me? Three years, the daylily is cold."
"What do you mean by daylily? Do you think the wait is too long?" Li Rongcheng waved his hand: "Usually it takes three to five years from placing an order to delivery. I've already given you the minimum. What else do you want?"
"Three to five years, is the delivery time of an aircraft so long?" Hu Ming also felt that he had opened the door to a new world. He didn't know much about civil aviation, so this was still relatively new to him.
Li Rongcheng told the truth: "Three to five years is a normal time. If there are some unexpected reasons, more than five years is normal."
"No, three years is too long, three months at most." Xu Cang said.
"Three months!? Even if we start working on it right now, we still won't be able to build you a plane in three months."
Xu Cang: "So, has all your current production capacity been booked?"
"What else do you think?" Li Rongcheng said bluntly: "If you are so anxious, I advise you to find an aircraft leasing company."
“Aircraft leasing companies are too expensive.”
Xu Cang's crazy words almost made Li Rongcheng depressed: "You think the delivery time is too long, and you think the aircraft leasing is too expensive, so you want to take advantage of everything."
Xu Cang nudged Li Rongcheng with his elbow: "Is there really no other way?"
"No..." Li Rongcheng almost blurted out the word "no way", but suddenly an idea flashed through his mind. He tutted his lips and asked Xu Cang: "Xu Cang, if it's a 737-900, do you want it?"
"737-900? Does 737 have this model?" Shi Qi, who was standing next to him, became interested when he heard Li Rongcheng say this. The 737 family has a long history, from the original 737-100 to the current 737-800, but I have never heard of a 737-900.
Li Rongcheng nodded and said, "Yes, it has just been approved by the FAA this year. It is the latest model of 737NG."
Xu Cang searched in his mind: "Is it the one with a first-level cabin layout and a passenger capacity of 215?"
Li Rongcheng was a little surprised: "You actually know this! That's right, if all the seats are changed to economy class, the 900 model can seat 215 people. Three years ago, Alaska Airlines ordered ten, but today they changed their minds when it was almost time for delivery and returned two. If you can accept it, we can give you one. In this way, the delivery can be completed in less than three months."
"But the 900 is 2.6 meters longer than the 800 model. Is the runway at Erhai Airport big enough?" Xu Cang was suddenly in a dilemma.
The current runway length of Erhai Airport is 2,600 meters, which is already quite limited for a 737-800. If it is replaced with a larger 737-900, the runway length of Erhai Airport will be a bit stretched.
Just when Xu Cang was in trouble, Hu Ming next to him suddenly asked: "Little brother, is the runway of Erhai Airport not long enough?"
"Director Hu, this 900 model is quite large, and the runway at our Erhai Airport is a little short, so it's a bit troublesome."
"Is that so?" Hu Ming nodded, not quite understanding. "What if we extend the runway? How much extension would be enough?"
"Ah?" Xu Cang was startled, then overjoyed: "Four hundred meters, just extend it by four hundred meters. If it can be extended by four hundred meters, then I don't want the 737-900, is there still a 737-900X?"
Li Rongcheng almost spit out the tea in his mouth: "How do you know about the 737-900X?"
The 737-900X, also known as the 737-900ER, is a stretched version of the 900 model and the largest model in the 737 series. However, this model is so new that many people should not know about it.
"Why do you care what I know?" Xu Cang glared at Li Rongcheng, then turned to look at Hu Ming: "Director Hu, is it feasible to extend the runway?"
"I'll discuss this when I get back. But even if it's feasible, it will probably take about half a year to get it done. Xu Cang, can you wait?"
Xu Cang was still thinking when Li Rongcheng interrupted him, "No, I can only keep it for you for three months at most. Beyond three months, the plane will have to be disposed of again. I can't keep it just for you. It will cause too much loss to us."
"Three months? That's a bit too hasty." Hu Ming was also embarrassed. Why did he feel that it was impossible to extend the runway by 400 meters in three months?
In fact, even Xu Cang himself felt that it would be impossible to accomplish it in three months. If it were in a plain area, where personnel and materials could be easily transported, there might be some chance, but in Erhai Airport, a place with inconvenient transportation, it was impossible no matter how you looked at it.
Seeing Xu Cang's expression, Li Rongcheng could only say apologetically: "Xu Cang, this is my limit. Three months cannot be extended any further."
"I know, but..." Xu Cang sighed and thought about rejecting this plan.
But at this moment, a heroic voice came from outside the door: "It's just a 400-meter runway, three months is enough!"
