Chapter 202: Taking a seat against regulations! Hidden dangers!
In a small room in the temporary base, Xu Cang, Qin Xin and Li Rongcheng sat together. None of them had any joy on their faces, especially Qin Xin, who looked even more worried.
"Boeing and Airbus won't sell us planes?" In the silence, Xu Cang finally spoke: "I don't quite understand. What did I do that angered heaven and man that requires Boeing and Airbus to jointly sanction me?"
Li Rongcheng seemed unsure: "I don't know the specific situation. However, it is highly likely that it was not decided by Boeing or Airbus themselves. Just like what you said just now, at least so far, there has been no sharp conflict between Boeing and Airbus and you, so it is unlikely that they will suddenly announce a ban on the sale of aircraft."
"Is there any external force exerting pressure?" Qin Xin asked, "If that's the case, it's not an ordinary force. Boeing and Airbus were all persuaded."
"Actually, I heard about it as well. There is no official document yet at the headquarters. However, there is always smoke without fire. You have to prepare early."
"What preparations are you making?" Xu Cang spread his hands and said, "If you don't want to sell it, then don't sell it. At worst, you can rent a plane from an aircraft leasing company. Most airlines rent planes anyway."
"If Boeing and Airbus intend to prevent you from using your own aircraft, they have plenty of ways to put pressure on leasing companies to prevent you from leasing aircraft. Aircraft leasing is rare, and Boeing and Airbus are at the top of the industry, so they have the ability to control the downstream. Moreover, at least so far, your benefits from leasing companies are not great, and they will not offend Boeing and Airbus for you."
Qin Xin looked at Xu Cang beside her, somewhat at a loss. In front of the two mountains of civil aviation aircraft in the world, they were simply like dust.
Large civil airliners are not cabbages on the street that can be bought anywhere. Due to their extremely high value, there are only a few distribution channels. If Boeing and Airbus really want to cut off Xu Cang's supply, it will not be very troublesome and is clearly feasible.
Xu Cang took a deep breath. The news brought by Li Rongcheng really caught him off guard. "The news has not been confirmed yet, and the reason is unknown, right?"
Li Rongcheng nodded: "This is the current situation. However, at my level, any news can no longer be regarded as just a rumor. The probability is relatively high."
If it is circulated among grassroots employees, its authenticity is always questionable. However, Li Rongcheng is at least the head of the Asia-Pacific region, and has touched the area of senior management. The authenticity of the news leaked at this level is very high. Although he does not know the source, Xu Cang cannot figure out the reason why Boeing and Airbus are targeting him.
Xu Cang reviewed his recent dealings with Airbus and Boeing in detail. Of course, Xu Cang had taken advantage of them, but most of the transactions were relatively normal. Airbus and Boeing wouldn't be so petty, right?
The two civil aviation giants deliberately blocked a newly started civil aviation company. There is no problem with their ability, but it will definitely not be a good reputation if it is spread out. Just for the loss of a little bit of petty profit, Airbus and Boeing can tear their faces off and impose sanctions. How can it be justified!
"Can't figure it out?" Li Rongcheng knew there was no solution to this problem when he saw Xu Cang's puzzled expression.
I am not afraid of trouble, but I am afraid of this kind of ball of thread that has no end. I don’t know how to start, which is the most annoying thing.
"I don't know. I really don't know what the reason is."
After thinking for a long time, Xu Cang still couldn't figure it out. He simply gave up thinking. What would it matter if he figured it out? No matter what the reason was, everything would become clear when the opponent made a move.
"Do you think it will be affected if I purchase or lease from other airlines?" Xu Cang asked.
Li Rongcheng thought for a moment and said, "I'm not sure about this. However, there are not many mainstream civil airliner options in the world. As long as airlines want to cooperate with Boeing or Airbus in the future, they must take the feelings of these two companies into consideration. I guess it depends on whether Boeing and Airbus are ruthless enough. If they are more ruthless, it will be difficult to deal with."
There is no other way, this is the advantage of near monopoly. Before that, there was McDonnell Douglas, but since Boeing acquired McDonnell Douglas, the entire world's civil aviation market has been almost entirely divided between Boeing and Airbus.
Once these two companies join forces, it will be equivalent to a monopoly on the entire industry. Anyone who has purchasing needs will have to look to them for approval.
It seems that Xu Cang and his group are in an extremely dangerous situation.
"What about the subsequent maintenance of the aircraft that have already been purchased?"
Li Rongcheng was quite sure about this question: "No matter what, as long as the aircraft has been sold, the follow-up service must be followed up. This involves the basic business reputation, and I believe the two companies will not take risks."
"Since the ban has not been issued yet, it means they are still waiting to see if they can buy another plane during this period of time." Xu Cang calculated: "However, the funds we have on hand now do not seem to be enough to buy another 900."
The 50 million for the British route might not even be enough to buy one engine, let alone a whole 737-900.
"We don't have much capital. Do you think it's possible to borrow money from a bank?" Xu Cang asked Qin Xin.
Qin Xin should be more experienced in this kind of thing.
However, Qin Xin seemed to have little confidence in this: "Banks are more cautious about corporate loans, especially when it comes to large amounts of loans. Our Spring Airlines has not had close cooperation with any bank before, and banks usually don't lend to companies they don't know. When I was at Spring Travel, I had a credit manager I was more familiar with. But with my ability, it would be quite good to get a loan of 10 million from him. 10 million doesn't seem to be of much help."
If a company wants to borrow money from a bank, it not only needs to have sufficient assets as collateral, but also needs a good repayment reputation. Just like between people, even if the person who borrows money looks good, but when it involves a large amount, this seems not stable enough.
It has to start with small loans. The company must repay on time and perform well. Then the bank will gradually increase the loan amount. After that, the company still performs well in repayment. After a few times, a relatively solid trust relationship can be established between the bank and the company. Under such circumstances, the bank may lend large amounts.
Generally speaking, it is normal for this process to take several years. It is for this reason that some emerging companies are most uncomfortable at the beginning of their business, because banks are unwilling to lend and funds cannot be turned over.
But once you get through this period and establish a relatively good relationship with the bank, it will be much easier to get loans later and the company will feel much more comfortable.
"That's 60 million, plus the funds we can still work with, we can probably get 80 million."
"No!" At this time, Qin Xin interrupted: "There are still 30 million!"
"There are still 30 million. Where did the 30 million come from? How come I don't know about it?" Xu Cang had no impression of the extra 30 million that Qin Xin mentioned. After all, he knew the financial situation of his own company inside and out. How could there be 30 million more out of thin air?
Qin Xin also looked a little confused: "Just this morning, an independent investor wanted to invest in us, the amount is 30 million."
"Independent investor, what does that mean?" Why did Xu Cang feel like he didn't quite understand?
"According to him, he is optimistic about the future development of our company, so he made the investment in advance, that's all."
"Why does it feel like something is wrong?" Xu Cang clicked his tongue: "Is he going to participate in the management of the company?"
It is a fairly common practice for independent investors to invest in some projects that they think are good at the early stages, and then earn development dividends after the projects develop.
However, this does not mean that Xu Cang thinks there is no problem with this investment.
"This is related to a very strange problem." Qin Xin said: "The man said that he did not have the energy to participate in the management of the company, so the voting rights of the shares obtained after the capital injection were exercised by the company's major shareholders, and the dividends of the shares were continued to purchase company shares, and no cash was used."
This completely confused Xu Cang.
"Did he really say that?" Li Rongcheng next to him also found it incredible: "Isn't this equivalent to giving it away for free?"
The voting rights are exercised by the company's major shareholder, and the major shareholder is Qin Xin. If the dividends are not cashed out and the company's shares are continuously purchased, then won't they still be integrated into the company's assets?
They don't want voting rights, and they don't cash out the dividends. Isn't this just giving away money for free in various ways?
"That's what he said. He even said that we could sign a supplementary agreement." In fact, Qin Xin herself didn't understand it. This was indeed no different from giving money away for free. But since the other party was willing to sign the agreement, she had no choice but to believe it.
Xu Cang slapped his forehead and said, "Strange things happen every year, but this year there are more. However, speaking of giving money away for free, I suddenly remembered that Muhua Airlines wants to invest 20 million in us, just dividends, and no participation in company management."
"Then we have collected 130 million yuan at once! It is enough to buy an airplane." Li Rongcheng said.
The price of the aircraft was not the final price. Generally speaking, as long as the relationship was strong enough, it was possible to get 60% off the quoted price. That is, a 737 was usually around 400 million yuan. With the help of Li Rongcheng, Xu Cang could buy it for less than 300 million yuan.
For products with extremely high unit prices such as airplanes, aircraft manufacturers usually allow installment payments, but they cannot accept outrageous operations like Xu Cang's, which required paying off the loan over ten years.
You need to pay about one third first. Generally, it takes more than two years for an aircraft to arrive after the order is placed. You can then pay the remaining balance slowly during these two years.
More than two years is enough for Xu Cang to make cash flow.
"No, I've changed my mind." Xu Cang said softly, "The news you brought me really touched me. Even if I become successful in the future, it's not a big deal for Boeing and Airbus to join forces to control me. Boeing and Airbus's planes are only a temporary choice and are not worth my huge investment. I'll just use the old plane. I won't buy a new one. It won't last for a few years anyway."
Li Rongcheng's heart trembled: "What do you mean, are you counting on domestically produced large aircraft? I tell you, it will take at least 20 years to accomplish this!"
It can only be said that Li Rongcheng is still quite capable. He is right. If we follow the development of the previous life, even after 20 years, domestically-made large aircraft have not entered into substantive commercial operation.
"Yes, Xu Cang! The mainstream passenger planes in the world right now are Boeing and Airbus, we have no choice. The domestically produced large aircraft is nowhere in sight, we can't always fly ARJ21, right?"
Qin Xin knew that Xu Cang had certain feelings towards domestic large aircraft, and was worried that after receiving the news of sanctions from Boeing and Airbus, he would be furious and place all his hopes on domestic large aircraft, which was obviously a mirage.
"Yes, you are right. Domestic large aircraft still have a long way to go. In this case, I think we can give it a push artificially."
Hearing this, Li Rongcheng thought Xu Cang had gone crazy: "Do you know that aircraft manufacturing is a very large and sophisticated industry? Xu Cang, people do have subjective initiative, but they can't let their imagination run wild. How can we push it forward artificially? We might as well think about how to overcome the difficulties now."
"How can we get through this difficult time? If you still want to use Boeing and Airbus aircraft, forget it."
"Why not use Boeing and Airbus aircraft?" Qin Xin said, "Boeing and Airbus are the top two aircraft manufacturers in the world. If not theirs, whose aircraft should we use?"
"Aren't there a third and a fourth?"
"Third or fourth?" Li Rongcheng was stunned for a moment, then reacted: "Are you talking about Embraer and Bombardier? But their main business is only in business jets and regional airliners. Business jets are meaningless, and regional airliners overlap with ARJ21's business, right?"
Xu Cang hummed: "That's right, but Bombardier has the ability to develop trunk passenger aircraft."
Li Rongcheng raised his eyebrows, and he began to understand what Xu Cang meant. "You mean you want to acquire Bombardier? Are you kidding? Do you know what the market value of Bombardier is? Forty-three billion US dollars, a Fortune 500 company. Do you understand what this value is?"
"I understand, don't get excited. It's just a joke." Xu Cang smiled, and it seemed that his mood suddenly improved: "Let's not talk about unhappy things. We have more than 100 million funds inexplicably, so we have to think about how to spend it, right?"
Li Rongcheng rolled his eyes and said, "Xu Cang, are you just going to let go of the ban imposed on you by Boeing and Airbus?"
Xu Cang patted Li Rongcheng on the shoulder: "Don't worry, we will find a way out."
"Forget it, forget it. If you are not in a hurry, why should I be in a hurry? Why should I be in a hurry?" Li Rongcheng was too lazy to say anything more. "Let's leave for Daocheng Yading Airport together the day after tomorrow. Don't run around in the next two days to avoid any accidents. Boeing spent a lot of effort to approve this test. It won't be easy to do it a second time."
When it comes to the test flight, Qin Xin can't help but feel a little worried: "Xu Cang, do you think this test flight is a sure thing?"
"It's okay!" Xu Cang smiled and looked very relaxed: "If you don't mix any personal emotions, the 777 is a good plane. There is a high probability that I will get on the plane and take a nap, and the test flight will be over."
In the agreement, Xu Cang participated in the test flight but did not directly participate in the execution of the test flight. He only had to ensure that the aircraft could land safely and avoid extreme situations. Due to his advance understanding of the subsequent development of the Boeing 777, Xu Cang felt that he was going to get a free ride from Boeing.
"As agreed before, the test flight will be led by Ye Xian. I don't like Ye Xian's personality, but I have to admit that Ye Xian is quite capable. So, I am optimistic about this test flight."
"Look, they said there's no problem. Don't worry about it." Xu Cang comforted Qin Xin while looking outside the house: "Where's Shi Lingling? I have to ask her what she learned in the American Southwest."
"I'll go call her." Qin Xin got up and walked out of the house.
As Qin Xin left, Li Rongcheng's expression quickly turned serious: "You were not joking just now, right? You really want to acquire Bombardier! The gap between domestic aircraft self-developed and domestic aircraft is too big, so you want to directly seek foreign aid."
Xu Cang stretched himself and said, "You've already said that Bombardier is one of the Fortune 500 companies. It's such a big name. How could I dare to think of acquiring it? Isn't that right?"
"Logically speaking, that's true. But my intuition tells me that you definitely have some ideas. I have a very strong feeling about that."
"Of course I have ideas. I also want to acquire Boeing and Airbus! It's not even fair to even think about it. Is this fair?" Xu Cang slowly stood up: "Okay, didn't we say not to talk about unhappy things? Let's go, let's go out and talk and get some fresh air."
As he spoke, Xu Cang had already left the room first, and Li Rongcheng looked at Xu Cang's departing back thoughtfully. Even though Xu Cang had been denying it, Li Rongcheng still did not change his opinion. Xu Cang definitely had ideas about Bombardier, and they were not just castles in the air fantasies, but real ambitions.
Although Li Rongcheng couldn't understand why Xu Cang was just an ant trying to shake a tree in the face of a large enterprise with a market value of more than 40 billion US dollars, he didn't know why he began to look forward to it, looking forward to what Xu Cang was planning.
…
Two days passed in a flash. During this period, the ARJ21 cooperation case was finally approved due to the resolution of the insurance issue. The 20 ARJ21s will be divided into four batches and gradually transferred to Jianchuan Airport and Erhai Airport. The specific arrangements will be decided by Spring Airlines.
In addition to the aircraft itself, according to the requirements of the cooperation plan, more than 156 related crew members will also be transferred to Spring Airlines along with the aircraft. For a long time thereafter, all the salaries, training costs and other various expenses of these crew members will be paid by Spring Airlines.
However, this kind of personnel turnover is not job-hopping, but a bit like wet leasing, except that it is free wet leasing with zero rent.
Of course, for NTU Airlines, at least it will not have to spend money on these 20 ARJ21s in the future, so there is naturally no reason for it to lose money.
The scale of 20 aircraft is still quite impressive. Xu Cang's plan is to keep only three at the Erhai headquarters and put the rest in Jianchuan. Of course, when the construction of Jinghong Airport is completed, the aircraft will be diverted to Jinghong Airport.
Of course, this is just Xu Cang’s plan, and the construction of Jinghong Airport has not even started yet!
Although Xu Cang was more concerned about the placement of the twenty ARJ21 aircraft and the more than 150 awakened crew members, the test flight of the 777 was more urgent, after all, the contract had been signed.
According to the plan, we should have taken a Muhua Airlines flight from Jianchuan to Daocheng Yading today, but something changed at the last minute and Spring Airlines' Jianchuan-Lhasa route was approved.
It was originally planned that Xu Cang would not participate in the first flight of the Jianchuan-Luoshui route, and that instructors Mo Shangyun and Shi Qi would form a team. With these two big guys together, although the flying environment at the Luoshui Airport was a bit bad, it was expected that there would be no accidents.
Of course, the most important reason was that Xu Cang had to go to Daocheng Yading that day.
However, for Xu Cang, who had rarely flown over high plateaus in his previous life, the first flight of Lhasa was still very attractive to him. However, in line with his responsible attitude towards the Boeing 777 test flight, Xu Cang did not plan to participate directly, but just observe.
When Li Rongcheng learned that Xu Cang was going to participate in the first flight of Luoshui, he was strongly opposed. After all, the 777 was the top priority and there must be no problems. As a result, Xu Cang said that he would just add a crew member, sit in the cockpit and watch for a while, and then take another airline's plane from Luoshui to Daocheng directly, which would not delay him for long.
After Xu Cang's haggling, Li Rongcheng finally agreed.
Since the altitude of the airport itself is over 10,000 feet, a conventional aircraft would have to decompress when landing there. Therefore, a special aircraft with high-altitude capabilities is needed to perform this flight.
Therefore, the high-altitude aircraft is a special modification of the aircraft's pressurization system, which changes the pressure relief of the pressurization system and the standard for the automatic drop of oxygen masks in the cabin. This type of 737 is rare in the entire model. However, what surprised Xu Cang was that the aircraft that Zhou Yanping of Tiandong Airlines agreed to rent to Xu Cang arrived quickly. It was two 737-700 aircraft, one of which actually had high-altitude capabilities.
Of course, according to Xu Cang's plan, these routes will be flown by 737-900. After all, he will not reduce the ticket price to a few hundred for this route. If he does so, he will be a big fool.
However, compared to other airlines' tickets that often cost two thousand yuan, Xu Cang set the ticket price at one thousand five hundred yuan based on the company's cost calculations, which is still cheaper than all flights to Lhasa Airport.
Judging from the popularity of pre-sale tickets, Xu Cang wanted to use a 747 to fly this route. Of course, if he used a 747 to fly, he would not make much more than a 737-900. After all, the maintenance cost of the 747 was too high. Every takeoff and landing, every engine start and shutdown would cause damage to the aircraft.
Why is it easy for heavy aircraft to lose money when flying a slightly shorter route? That’s because the aircraft’s wear and tear mostly comes from takeoff and landing and the switching on and off of the engine.
The difference in aircraft wear and tear between a seven-hour flight and a three-hour flight is not that big. Since airlines know that the key to aircraft wear and tear is the number of flights rather than the duration, especially for heavy aircraft with extremely high maintenance costs, airlines will definitely choose to operate ultra-long international routes from a cost perspective.
However, the 737-900 that was promised was still waiting in Seattle, and Xu Cang was getting angry but it was useless. With the idea of making as much money as possible, since his own 737-700 had high-altitude capabilities, why not fly it first to try it out?
However, unlike previous maiden flights, there will be no plans for Jianchuan-Luse in the next four days after the maiden flight. The reason is that Spring Airlines lacks capacity and cannot spare any aircraft.
The maiden flight was approved specially. Because the Tiandong Airlines Jianchuan Branch had not yet completed the procedures for leasing the Xu Cang aircraft, this maiden flight was approved separately and could not be counted as a regular flight. And the 737-800 that had no formalities problems could not fly to the high plateau, so no more flights could be arranged after the maiden flight. However, if everything goes well, the 737-900 will take off from Seattle in three days. If it is fast, it will be able to replace the 700 model to operate the route on the fifth day.
Today's 737-700 is paving the way for the subsequent 900 aircraft.
In his heart, Li Rongcheng was unwilling to go through all the trouble. But in order to keep an eye on Xu Cang, he still took the inaugural flight from Jianchuan to Lhasa with flight number 9521. Of course, like Xu Cang, he would only take a section of the flight. After arriving in Lhasa, he would not return with the plane, but fly directly from Lhasa to Daocheng with Xu Cang.
Li Rongcheng thought that flying a high-altitude route would not cause any problems, after all, the cockpit crew resources and strength were there . Mo Shangyun and Shi Qi were the best match no matter which airline they were in.
So, Li Rongcheng started to sleep as soon as he got on the plane, while Xu Cang went into the cockpit and watched the operation of the flight with curiosity.
"We'll be approaching the Lhasa airport soon. Just press the high-altitude landing switch." Xu Cang, dressed in casual clothes, asked while sitting in the observer's seat, pointing to a switch button on the left side of the boost panel.
The switch button Xu Cang pointed to has the words HIGH ALT LDG marked on it, and it is below the cabin altitude warning cut-off switch. If the 737 does not have high altitude capability, there will be no such switch in the same position.
Shi Qi had flown over the high plateaus in the northwest for a while before. The area was the remnant of the Tianshan Mountains, and some airports were more than 10,000 feet above sea level. However, at that time, Shi Qi flew Airbus, and it was his first time to fly over the high plateaus with a Boeing.
Therefore, even though they were both Class C instructors, Shi Qi still consciously chose to sit in the right seat, and let Mo Shangyun sit on the left. It was agreed during the pre-flight preparations for this inaugural flight that Mo Shangyun would be the one to land at Lhasa Airport.
Compared to Shi Qi, who was a little less experienced, Mo Shangyun was much more experienced. He smiled and explained to Xu Cang, "Yes, that is the high-altitude landing switch. Just press it when descending. I press the switch before the approach briefing, and then start the briefing."
"If this switch is pressed, will the decompression logic of the entire aircraft change?" Xu Cang knew about this high landing switch in his previous life, but after the popularization of such special-function aircraft, Xu Cang had already devoted his energy to administrative work. As a result, Xu Cang only saw this switch in the manual and had never operated it in actual operation. Today's maiden flight was an eye-opener for Xu Cang.
"Well, on ordinary airplanes, the cabin altitude will be raised to 14,000 feet after pressing this button. I forgot the exact number. Oh, I am getting old and forgetful."
"It looks like you really forgot something, instructor." Xu Cang joked, "It's not more than 14,000 feet. The decompression altitude will be changed to 15,200 feet, and the altitude at which the oxygen masks drop will be changed from 14,000 feet to 15,600 feet."
"Yes, yes, that's the number." Facing Xu Cang's ridicule, Mo Shangyun was not annoyed, but praised Xu Cang: "There are not many such aircraft in the country. As for the base airlines in Jianchuan, Feiyu Airlines flies a lot on the high-altitude routes, so there are some. There are also a few at the Jianchuan base of Muhua Airlines and the Jianchuan branch of Tiandong Airlines. It seems that there are no other places. If other companies want to operate high-altitude routes, most of them use A319 instead of 737-700. You know the data of such an uncommon model clearly. Where did you see it? You should not have flown high-altitude routes?"
"You've never eaten pork, but you've seen pigs run?" Xu Cang casually said, "It's just something in the manual. I can remember it by flipping through it. Of course, I haven't flown high-altitude routes. It's just theory."
"Young people have good memories. If I were asked to memorize something from a manual, I would forget it completely in less than three days. How could I remember it so accurately? And it's not the model I usually fly."
Shi Qi also echoed, "Yes, I don't know what went wrong with the bureau in the past two years. They insisted on testing our instructors' theories. You say it's OK for the young instructors to take the test, but what can we older ones remember? We all fly based on experience. In order to prepare for the test, I even took a leave to stay home and read books. It was extremely painful for me to read. The scene was even more uncomfortable than the inspection for hiring Class C instructors."
"The old teachers have good skills, but their theoretical knowledge is outdated and they don't like to learn. The young people have good theory, but their practical skills are not good enough. No one is perfect, there's nothing we can do about it," said Xu Cang.
Mo Shangyun smiled and said, "You are quite emotional! I think you are a perfect person, with solid theoretical knowledge and steady skills. Are you bragging?"
"How am I bragging?" Xu Cang said hurriedly, "For example, I was completely clueless about this high-altitude airport. Isn't this just a technical shortcoming?"
"Is this still a technical shortcoming? It's just a high plateau. Come on up and fly. I'll make up for your shortcomings today." Mo Shangyun looked quite happy and pulled Xu Cang to let him take the seat.
"No, this is against the rules." Xu Cang felt a little embarrassed.
"It's not a big deal! Just try it out. The high plateau shouldn't be difficult for you. It's a matter of experience, not technical problems." Shi Qi didn't really care about whether it was against the rules or not. While he was talking, he had actually started to unbuckle his seat belt, which clearly showed that he wanted to give up his seat to Xu Cang.
Xu Cang was a little embarrassed for a moment: "Teacher, I am wearing casual clothes and sneakers. Is this not good?"
"If there's anything wrong, take your seat quickly. You can come over when we land at the airport."
Upon hearing this, Xu Cang hurriedly shook his head: "No, no, I have never landed at a high altitude airport. If something goes wrong, it would be knowingly committing a crime and I would get into trouble."
Mo Shangyun was in an unusually high spirit, patting his chest and saying, "It's okay. If there's any problem, I'll take care of it!"
