Chapter 229: The Heaven Bows!
The president's office at Asiana Airlines' headquarters building in Seoul, South Korea.
Park Seok-won, who was already in a state of panic, received an unexpected guest, who was Xiao Lingyun who had arrived in Korea not long ago.
Xiao Lingyun came to South Korea for inspection as Xu Cang suggested. After wandering around for a while, he had to do the last important thing of this trip, which was to talk to Park Seok-won about the previous agreement with Xu Cang.
For many days, the stock price of Asiana Airlines continued to fall, and the chairman's secretary's office bombarded Park Seok-won with calls every day, which made Park Seok-won very annoyed. However, if it was just this, Park Seok-won would just bear with it.
However, due to Asiana Airlines' operational problems, Park Seok-won's position as president has begun to become unstable, which is his biggest headache.
The long period of busyness made Park Seok-won temporarily forget his previous agreement with Xu Cang, but when Xiao Lingyun appeared, Park Seok-won had to face this difficult problem again.
"Does that mean Xu Cang has already dealt with Tiandong Airlines?" Park Seok-won's face was full of fatigue. He supported his temple with his right thumb and rubbed it gently, looking very distressed.
Xiao Lingyun showed Park Seok-won a document, which consisted of only two thin sheets of paper: "This is the agreement signed between Xu Cang and Tiandong Airlines. Tiandong Airlines agrees that Spring Airlines will open a Korean route at Shanghai Airport."
Park Seok-won didn't even take it to look at it, but glanced at it: "Copy?"
"When I came to Korea, this agreement had just been signed, so I naturally couldn't bring the original copy with me. This was faxed over. However, if President Park needs it, I can provide the original copy."
"No need." Park Seok-won waved his hand and snapped his fingers. Soon a beautiful woman came in and walked to Park Seok-won.
Park Seok-won pointed at the document in Xiao Lingyun's hand and said, "Go contact Tiandong Airlines and confirm it."
The secretary nodded, took the document from Xiao Lingyun, and went out to work without saying anything else.
"Is it true that we can figure it out soon? However, instead of waiting here, why not talk about the situation over there?" Xiao Lingyun was obviously at ease: "I wonder if President Park has dealt with the Seoul Aviation Administration?"
When this was mentioned, Park Seok-won's face turned as dark as the bottom of a pot.
Seeing that Park Seok-won was unwilling to talk, Xiao Lingyun was too lazy to wait and directly asked: "I heard that your company is under investigation by the Seoul Civil Aviation Administration recently. What about the route application?"
"It's just three routes. I can handle it." Park Seok-won waved his hands in annoyance, and it seemed that he was going to kick people out.
However, Xiao Lingyun did not leave, but chuckled and said, "President Park, acting on impulse will not solve the problem. I came here with sincerity, do you really not want to have a good talk?"
"You are sincere, are you sure you are not here to add insult to injury?" Park Seok-won snorted, his words full of dissatisfaction: "I will do my best to fight for the three routes. If they are not completed according to the agreement, I will not hide the compensation. You came here this time, aren't you afraid that I will not admit it?"
"No, no, no, President Park is too excited. Judging from the current situation, if we analyze it rationally, it seems that your company will not be able to escape compensation."
Park Seok-won's mouth moved. Xiao Lingyun knew some Korean, and from Park Seok-won's mouth shape, it was clearly a Korean curse. However, Park Seok-won never thought that he would fail in this agreement.
Because from the perspective at that time, it would be much more difficult for Xu Cang to deal with Tiandong Airlines than for Asiana Airlines to deal with the Seoul Aviation Administration. Unexpectedly, the result was reversed, and it was Asiana Airlines that had the problem.
If I had known earlier, I would not have set the penalty level in the agreement so high. This is really shooting oneself in the foot.
No matter how hard Park Seok-won tries to be stubborn, he can't deny it with the written word. And the situation is indeed as Xiao Lingyun said. It is impossible for Asiana Airlines to get the Seoul Civil Aviation Administration to approve their routes now. They are doomed to fail.
"As for compensation, if possible, please be a little lenient." Park Seok-won, who had been a little irritable just now, was finally defeated by reality and began to give in.
When you live under someone's roof, how can you not bow your head?
"This is it!" Xiao Lingyun suddenly said, "What Xu Cang meant is that he doesn't want cash, how about using assets to compensate?"
When Park Seok-won was mentioned, he immediately became alert and straightened up: "What does Xu Cang want?"
"President Park, don't get excited. Don't get excited. Xu Cang doesn't want Asiana Airlines' core assets."
"Don't want core assets?" Park Seok-won, who was originally tense, immediately relaxed. As long as it didn't involve core assets, it would be easy to say. Moreover, if it involved core assets, to be honest, Park Seok-won would not have much room to make the decision.
Park Seok-won leaned back on the sofa and asked, "What does Xu Cang want?"
"If possible, Xu Cang wants Asiana Airlines' tourism industry in Jeju Island." Xiao Lingyun said.
"Jeju Island? This..." This made Park Seok-won a little confused.
A few years ago, the South Korean government said it wanted to develop the tourism value of Jeju Island. Asiana Airlines followed suit and established some tourism industries there, but the scale was small and, to be honest, the value was not high.
Later, the official slogans were loud and clear, but there was no policy. The initial investment enthusiasm gradually faded away. Anyway, Asiana headquarters did not care about its tourism industry in Jeju Island at all. Even Park Seok-won doubted whether the board of directors knew that it had an industry in Jeju Island.
Park Seok-won really didn't expect that this was what Xu Cang wanted. He stroked his forehead and thought hard, but still couldn't figure out what value those worthless industries on Jeju Island had?
"Are you sure Xu Cang only wants those things and nothing else?" Park Seok-won confirmed. After all, according to Park Seok-won's rough estimate, the industries on Jeju Island still did not meet the compensation standards.
If it is just a marginal industry, as a substitute for the compensation in the agreement, it will undoubtedly minimize the losses and have little impact on oneself.
Xiao Lingyun nodded: "That's enough! Xu Cang meant that there might be a chance to work with President Park in the future, so there's no need to embarrass everyone."
Park Seok-won was startled for a moment, then burst into laughter: "Good, good! Xu Cang can think this way, which shows that he has a good vision. The current difficulties of Asiana Airlines are only temporary, and there will be many opportunities for cooperation in the future. There is really no need to make things too awkward. No, now I remember. When I met Xu Cang before, he asked me about Jeju Island. It seems that Xu Cang wants to build a private resort on Jeju Island."
"I'm not sure about that. But after hearing what President Park said, I feel there is still some possibility." Xiao Lingyun said with a smile.
At this time, the secretary who had just entered pushed the door open again, probably coming with the news to verify with Tiandong Airlines. He whispered a few words in Park Seok-won's ear, and then left expressionlessly.
"I didn't expect Xu Cang to be so capable. He really managed to get Tiandong Airlines." To be honest, Park Seok-won didn't expect Xu Cang to be able to smooth out the relationship with Tiandong Airlines in such a short time. It seems that Xu Cang is not so easy to control.
However, no matter what, Xu Cang's request for compensation was within Park Seok-won's acceptable range, which was undoubtedly good news. Otherwise, if this matter was exposed, his position in Asiana's headquarters would be even more precarious.
Xiao Lingyun suddenly said: "President Park, Xu Cang is actually more capable than you think."
Park Seok-won picked up the teacup and raised his eyebrows: "What do you mean?"
"President Park, Asiana Airlines is not doing well right now, right? A large part of the pressure comes from Korean Air, right?"
At this moment, Park Seok-won narrowed his eyes slightly, like a wolf choosing its prey: "Mr. Xiao, aren't you meddling too much?"
Indeed, what Xiao Lingyun said was true. If it was just a case of forged documents, Asiana Airlines would suffer some impact based on its official management, but it would definitely not be as painful as it is now.
As the saying goes, when a wall falls, everyone pushes it. As the first and second largest airlines in South Korea, Korean Air is the one with the most motivation and strength to push the wall. From the sources we have learned so far, Korean Air has spared no effort in terms of public opinion and lobbying the civil aviation authorities, hoping that this incident will directly crush Asiana Airlines.
Regardless of whether it can be defeated in one fell swoop, at least it is certain that Asiana Airlines will be seriously injured this time. Moreover, as the daily manager of Asiana Airlines, Park Seok-won is likely to be held responsible for this matter.
However, Xiao Lingyun was calm and composed, and his words were very brisk: "President Park, the problem is that without outside help, you are already in a dead end. Korean Air has been eyeing you for so many years, and finally found such a big flaw. Don't you want to make the most of it? As a challenger, you only have limited opportunities. Now it seems that you have lost."
"I didn't realize that Mr. Xiao was so concerned about the future of Asiana."
"No, no, no, I'm concerned about you, President Park." Xiao Lingyun said slowly, "If Asiana Airlines fails this time, it seems that it will be acquired by others. But the question is, by whom , and what will be the outcome for President Park? From the current perspective, Korean Air is the most likely to acquire you. However, President Park has caused a lot of trouble for Korean Air in the past few years, and they must remember it. Moreover, Asiana Airlines is in this crisis, and the higher-ups need to find someone to handle it. I think President Park is a good fit. If Asiana Airlines is acquired by Korean Air, the new owner will want to deal with you, and the old owner will also want to deal with you. This prospect is not very good."
Park Seok-won gritted his teeth. How could he not know? The key point was that he had no other choice now. Korean Air seemed to have put in a desperate effort this time and had already started a price war with Asiana Airlines.
Korean Air was originally positioned as a higher-end airline than Asiana Airlines, and if it were to engage in a price war, Korean Air would suffer considerable losses. However, in order to give Asiana Airlines a final blow, Korean Air seems to be willing to do whatever it takes.
Asiana Airlines is now facing internal and external troubles and is indeed at great risk of being acquired.
However, at least for Park Seok-won, being acquired by Korean Air was a bad move that basically ruined his future for the rest of his life.
"There's no need to repeat something that everyone already knows." Park Seok-won said in a deep voice.
"President Park, let me tell you something that not many people know about." Xiao Lingyun said with a smile, "For example, a new owner acquired Asiana Airlines."
"What did you say?" Park Seok-won was shocked. "Someone wants to get involved? Who is it?"
After saying that, Park Seok-won took a deep look at Xiao Lingyun, and then he changed his mind and said in disbelief, "You mean...Xu Cang?"
Xiao Lingyun nodded slightly: "That's right!"
Park Seok-won was stunned at first, then burst into laughter wildly, laughing so hard that tears came down.
Xiao Lingyun was not in a hurry either. He just waited quietly until Park Seok-won's laughter stopped. Then he said leisurely, "President Park doesn't seem to believe it at all."
"Why should I believe it? With his crappy company, he thinks he is worthy of acquiring Asiana. Is he crazy?" Park Seok-won sneered.
Park Seok-won is not a fool. When he and Xu Cang were working on the China-Korea route, he had specially investigated the situation of Spring Airlines. Moreover, Park Seok-won is not the kind of person who only listens to one side. He inquired from multiple channels and the feedback was that Spring Airlines is a low-cost airline. If it weren't for Lee Hyuk-jae's recommendation and the fact that he thought Spring Airlines was easy to control, Park Seok-won really looked down on Spring Airlines.
It was just such an ant that actually swallowed the elephant, even though it was a dying elephant now.
However, Xiao Lingyun had a serious expression on his face. He raised a finger and said, "First, your current market value is less than a quarter of what it was before. Even if the acquisition price is not completely equal to the market value, it is at least positively correlated, so don't think of yourself as too expensive. Second, Xu Cang owns Spring Airlines, but that doesn't mean he only has Spring Airlines. Third, from President Park's personal perspective, you don't seem to have any better choice."
Park Seok-won's smile gradually faded, and he gradually realized that Xiao Lingyun did not seem to be joking, but really wanted to acquire Asiana Airlines.
"That's right. Our market value has dropped drastically now. But even if we are unwilling, if we sell it to Korean Air, they should give us a good price. Why should we sell it to Xu Cang at a low price? The board of directors will never agree to it."
Xiao Lingyun smiled even more: "Then I'll have to trouble President Park to tell everyone."
"You want me to be your insider?" Park Seok-won was so angry that he laughed: "Those people above are greedy for money. Korean Air can offer a high price, so why should they sell it to Xu Cang at a low price, unless they have a problem with their brains."
Asiana Airlines is not a family-run business model. The chairman's family usually does not participate in the operation of the company. They only collect the company's profits, and the company is managed by specialized managers.
It is for this reason that the top management of Asiana only cares about the size of profits. It is for this reason that the top management crudely attributed the company crisis to Park Seok-won, the direct manager.
Although Park Seok-won despised this simple and unreasonable way of distinction, he was sure that if Asiana Airlines really wanted to sell, the top management would definitely look at the price rather than any other factors. Even if the top management of Asiana Airlines hated Korean Air, they would not hate more money.
Xiao Lingyun smiled even more: "What if we can raise Asiana Airlines' stock price to its highest point in history within two years?"
…
At this moment, at Qitai Airport, as soon as the landing gear of the aircraft was retracted, Xu Cang carefully controlled the sideslip of the aircraft. In a single-engine environment, the aircraft cannot side-slip, otherwise it will increase the resistance out of thin air and affect the aircraft's climbing performance.
Usually, pilots would judge the existence of sideslip by the sideslip indicator or whether the steering wheel is level after the autopilot is turned on. However, Xu Cang's perception is extremely sensitive. He can tell whether the sideslip has been truly eliminated just by physical sensation.
The landing gear is retracted, and the F/D instructs the aircraft to keep the wings level, which appears on the flight path as keeping one side.
As soon as the plane left the ground, there was a steep downhill slope below. Qitai Airport was built on a hillside, and its foundation was just a man-made flat platform. Every inch of land was valuable, so how could the area be large?
After this downhill slope, they came to a hilltop, which was the first terrain obstacle. However, Xu Cang had already straightened the plane when taxiing on the ground, and at the beginning of takeoff, the rudder volume kept up and the sideslip was eliminated. There was almost no time for resistance to be generated, and the climbing performance was not delayed for a moment, so it naturally crossed the first hilltop without any surprise.
"Four hundred feet!" Chen Guoli reported.
"Horizontal navigation!" Xu Cang said, "Did the start handle cut?"
"It was cut while sliding."
"The single-engine deviation is smaller than I expected." Xu Cang even had some energy left to feel fortunate.
Because before takeoff, there was heavy snow in the sky, the runway was extremely slippery, and the difference in thrust between the engines made it easy for the plane to veer sideways . However, from an actual perspective, the veer was not large.
Of course, this feeling may only be limited to Xu Cang. What Xu Cang thinks is not a big deal may not necessarily be the case for others.
Since we knew in advance that the approach was a normal manual engine cut-off and there were no other faults, there was no need to conduct fault analysis. After passing the minimum flap retraction altitude, Chen Guoli reminded: "Nine thousand feet, N1?"
Generally, in the takeoff performance analysis, there will be a description of the minimum flap retraction height. In the performance analysis table provided by the airport, the minimum flap retraction height is 332 meters, which is about 1,100 feet.
However, this 1,100 feet is not the height, but the height. It is necessary to add the airport's own altitude of more than 7,800 feet. Then, when converted to the corrected sea pressure, it is naturally close to 9,000 feet.
Reduced thrust operation of an aircraft is a common means of protecting the engine. The pilot can perform reduced thrust operation after passing the minimum flap retraction altitude.
However, this is not necessarily the case. At some large airports, due to the existence of noise reduction procedures, there will be new regulations on the use of reduced thrust. Of course, Qitai Airport definitely does not have any noise reduction procedures.
However, when Chen Guoli's words fell into Xu Cang's ears, Xu Cang turned his head slightly and smiled: "Teacher, are you so nervous?"
"Ah?" Chen Guoli was stunned for a moment, then reacted: "Sorry, sorry, we are flying a single-engine aircraft, how can we use thrust reduction?"
Xu Cang sighed: "Instructor, if you feel burdened, we can restart the engine and then return to the field for landing. I can verify the single-engine procedure by myself."
"No, no, I'm indeed a little nervous." Chen Guoli's face flushed red, but he did not hide his mistake.
There was no way. He was under a lot of pressure, especially after discussing the possible downdraft with Xu Cang last night. He felt the pressure suddenly increased, which led to him losing focus and making mistakes.
"Instructor, it looks like we're lucky that there's no tailwind shear on the initial climb. But the real problem isn't in the initial climb, is it?"
Although Chen Guoli was determined to die, it would be best if he could survive. No one would complain about living too long.
"Xu Cang, if we encounter a downdraft, do you really have a way to deal with it?"
…
At this moment, on the control tower of Qitai Airport, Bi Lin, Yue Sheng, Ma Cheng, and Zhou Yanping were standing in front of the radar screen observing the changes in the aircraft signal.
"Good, it looks like there is no wind shear." Bi Lin, leaning on a crutch, could see the changes in the aircraft's position and altitude on the radar screen.
Judging from the altitude data alone, the plane has passed the initial climb phase and is now about to turn right and enter the canyon.
On the way, Bi Lin told Yue Sheng and the other two about the purpose of Xu Cang's trip. Yue Sheng and Ma Cheng were not pilots, so they didn't understand a lot of things, but Zhou Yanping was different, he was an expert and understood it immediately.
"Master, although there are several hills on one side of the Qitai Airport, it seems that there is no problem climbing and clearing obstacles with a single engine. Is it necessary to make such a grand ceremony?" Zhou Yanping looked at the matter from a different angle. He continued, "Is the airflow extremely chaotic here, and does wind shear often occur? Indeed, wind shear will have a serious impact on aircraft, not to mention single-engine aircraft. But it is unavoidable. If it really happens, there is nothing we can do. It should not be counted in the procedure verification."
Zhou Yanping's meaning was very simple. There would be no problem in starting the climb on one side of Qitai Airport under single-engine conditions according to the effect presented by Xu Cang's flight.
As for the wind shear mentioned by Bi Lin, it should not be considered at all. Wind shear, an air flow phenomenon whose time, space and intensity cannot be determined, should not be included in the verification scope.
Since there is no need to worry about wind shear and the initial climb is no problem, then we can proceed. It seems that everything is simple, but it is a bit of an exaggeration to make it so serious and ask Yue Sheng and others to come together.
Xu Cang is a human, not a god. Just because he came to verify once, there will not be wind shear later. Just because he still managed to cross the obstacle in the wind shear, it does not mean that the people behind him can also complete the obstacle crossing in the wind shear. There is no causal relationship, so there is naturally no need for verification.
Therefore, in Zhou Yanping's opinion, the verification flight has ended. It is possible to restart the engine and return to the airport.
"That's right. Wind shear will naturally not be included in the verification scope. That is not a technical problem, it is a matter of luck. How can luck be verified?"
At this moment, the door of the control room was pushed open, and a middle-aged man in a dark green coat walked in. He was strong and muscular, and walked with the gait of a dragon and a tiger, quite majestic.
"Wang Li, I am old, but I am not hard of hearing, so there is no need to speak so loudly." Bi Lin said dissatisfiedly, and then introduced to Yue Sheng and others: "This is Wang Li, the station chief of Qitai Airport."
Wang Li laughed loudly: "Mr. Bi, I can't change my voice."
Wang Li pointed at Zhou Yanping and said, "This brother is right. Wind shear is very dangerous for both engines, not to mention single-engine. But it's a matter of probability. If you encounter it, you can only consider yourself unlucky. However, in this single-engine procedure, the initial climb phase is not actually the most dangerous..."
Zhou Yanping became interested: "What other dangers are there? Once the flaps are retracted, the shape is smooth and the subsequent climb gradient requirements are generally lower. The initial climb has been passed, so what problems will there be later?"
"Yes." Wang Li walked to the glass curtain wall of the control tower and pointed to the canyon in the distance. Under the dark sky, there was a small white dot moving through the canyon with difficulty. It was Xu Cang's plane.
Wang Li narrowed his eyes, a gleam of light flashing in his eyes: "Almost there!"
At this moment, the aircraft has just left the initial climb phase and turned right into the canyon. According to the single-engine procedure, the aircraft will finally fly along the canyon while gaining altitude, and finally eliminate the terrain threat.
There is actually a protruding obstacle hill in front of the canyon, but the plane is still a short distance away from there. Logically speaking, if the plane slowly climbs in this short distance, it will basically be able to climb over it.
However, in the cockpit, as soon as the plane turned into the canyon, Xu Cang and Chen Guoli's faces became extremely solemn. Xu Cang's right hand tightly grasped the steering wheel, and even because of too much force, his knuckles began to turn white.
"Xu Cang, you said you would only try it once." Chen Guoli suddenly said.
Xu Cang's expression was also a little tense: "Don't worry, I don't want to do it a second time."
"Okay!" Chen Guoli responded, verified that the yaw damper was connected, and at the same time turned the starting switch of the working engine, the No. 2 engine, to the flight position.
After watching Chen Guoli complete these actions, Xu Cang casually adjusted the speed to 230 knots and switched the autopilot from CMD mode to CWS mode.
The CWS mode of autonomous driving is a semi-automatic working mode and is generally used in severe bumps.
However, at the moment Xu Cang pressed the CWS mode button, the plane seemed to be pressed down from top to bottom by a giant hand. Even in CWS mode, the autopilot was disconnected in an instant.
Xu Cang held the steering wheel with both hands, his face pale. The strength of this downdraft was beyond his imagination. It was just this first impact, and the plane couldn't even lift its head!
On the tower, everyone gathered in front of the radar screen was suddenly shocked, because on the radar, the plane that should have maintained an ascending trend not only did not continue to climb, but was actually in an extremely strange state... descending!
