Chapter 238: Departing for England! Arrested upon landing!
In the office of the head of the strategic department of Muhua Airlines, Ma Cheng welcomed an unexpected guest, Choi Sang-do, the president of Korean Air. Facing the president of the largest airline in South Korea, Ma Cheng's attitude was not very good. He just sat lazily in his seat and smiled at Choi Sang-do, who was sitting on the sofa not far away. "President Choi, it seems that our Muhua has no cooperation with Korea. What's the matter that bothered you to come all the way here?"
Cui Xiangdao has a well-proportioned figure, handsome appearance, and exudes a scholarly air. If you don't know Cui Xiangdao, you will really be attracted by his temperament. But as a person in the civil aviation circle, Ma Cheng still has some understanding of President Cui.
As clean as President Cui appears, his soul is actually quite dirty.
Cui Xiangdao frowned as he looked at the empty coffee table, but he hid his dissatisfaction well: "Boss Ma, when I saw you at the International Civil Aviation Conference last year, you were still as charming as ever."
Ma Cheng clicked his lips, clearly expressing his impatience.
Ma Cheng is not a patient person, at least he doesn't have his patience with Cui Xiangdao. Their relationship is not that good yet, and he is too lazy to listen to Cui Xiangdao's nonsense.
Hearing Ma Cheng's tongue-tickling sound, Cui Xiangdao's dissatisfaction grew even more. He was a man who called the shots in Korean Civil Aviation, but here he came and didn't get the corresponding respect at all, which was really annoying.
"Mr. Ma, the decision on Muhua Airlines' application to join SkyTeam has come down. We will have more cooperation in the future." Cui Xiangdao said with a smile, and there was no sign of his dissatisfaction at all.
Choi Sang-do was talking about the SkyTeam alliance, of which Korean Air is one of the founding members, and Muhua Airlines has recently passed the review and joined the SkyTeam alliance. Once joining the SkyTeam alliance, member airlines will gradually realize code-sharing, so Choi Sang-do's statement that the two companies will have more cooperation in the future is indeed not empty talk.
Just because a lot of words are good doesn't mean they are not nonsense. At least, everything Cui Xiangdao said so far is useless to Ma Cheng. Originally, Ma Cheng felt that people in his country liked to beat around the bush. Why did Koreans like to beat around the bush more than people in his own country?
"President Cui." Ma Cheng couldn't stand it anymore and stood up. "If you have anything to say, please speak directly. If you want to discuss the cooperation of the alliance, you can go back and look through our previous meeting minutes. I have already made it very clear at that time."
Muhua Airlines had already made all future cooperation matters very clear during the negotiations to join SkyTeam, so there is no need to repeat them again.
Seeing Ma Cheng stand up, Cui Xiangdao also stood up: "Mr. Ma, speaking of SkyTeam, I just want to make one point..."
Ma Cheng frowned: "What do you mean?"
Cui Xiangdao smiled lightly and said, "We are on the same side, we are allies."
"Haha!" Ma Cheng showed an expression of noncommittal, but did not make any comments on Cui Xiangdao's statement. He just said lightly: "Alliance? So, what does the alliance want to do?"
"Boss Ma, doesn't Muhua have a partnership with Asiana Airlines on international routes?"
Ma Cheng raised his eyebrows: "What's wrong, are you trying to interfere with our business?"
"Of course not!" Cui Xiangdao hurriedly smiled to ease the awkward atmosphere: "Some time ago, didn't Muhua complete the first transatlantic flight of the Boeing 777? So there should be no need cooperate with Asiana Airlines. They can fly to Europe and the United States on their own."
Previously, due to the awkward location of Yangcheng Airport, it was far inferior to Hanjing Airport in terms of European and American routes, so Muhua Airlines cooperated with Asiana Airlines as a second choice. Muhua Airlines' European and American routes will transfer in South Korea, and subsequent routes to Europe and the United States will be operated by Asiana Airlines.
Muhua Airlines provides the passengers and Asiana Airlines actually operates the flights, and the two companies share the route profits in proportion.
However, the first transatlantic flight of the Boeing 777 that Xu Cang participated in was "successfully" completed. Based on the good economic performance of the Boeing 777, Muhua Airlines can already fly European and American routes on its own at book cost without transiting in South Korea.
That being said, the cost calculation is not done in this way, because all this is based on the premise that the profit sharing ratio between Muhua Airlines and Asiana Airlines remains unchanged.
Ma Cheng did not directly answer Cui Xiangdao's question. Instead, he seemed to be playing with the ornaments on his desk and said casually, "I heard that you have been fighting fiercely with Asiana Airlines recently?"
Cui Xiangdao was stunned, secretly cursing Ma Cheng in his heart, saying that this guy was just like a fox. He was a little more explicit, and Ma Cheng immediately guessed his thoughts. However, no matter how unhappy he was, his expression remained unchanged, and he even had a faint smile on his face: "It's a normal business behavior. Besides, we have been competing with Asiana for a long time."
"But are you serious this time?" Ma Cheng said with a sinister smile, "You've even resorted to a price war, a lose-lose tactic. It looks like Korean Air is determined to win. However, it looks like Asiana Airlines' resistance is beyond your expectations. Is the situation at a stalemate? So, are you here to find a way out?"
Cui Xiangdao's expression finally changed. Even though they were in different countries, Cui Xiangdao had heard of Ma Cheng's reputation. It was said that Ma Cheng was insidious and cunning. Now that he was really dealing with him, he really felt deeply.
Ma Cheng ignored Cui Xiangdao and continued to talk to himself: "The international routes we provide to Asiana Airlines account for nearly a quarter of Asiana Airlines' passengers. And Asiana Airlines' wide-body aircraft account for nearly 60% of the total fleet. In other words, most of Asiana Airlines' revenue comes from international routes. If this quarter of passengers is lost, it will be a huge blow and the key to breaking the balance."
South Korea is a small country, and domestic flights only take more than an hour from the southernmost to the northernmost, leaving little room for development. Therefore, both the largest airline, Korean Air, and the second largest, Asiana Airlines, focus on international flights as their main business.
For example, domestic airlines do not have a large proportion of wide-body aircraft in all aircraft, but mostly narrow-body aircraft. However, Korean Air and Asiana Airlines are the opposite, with wide-body aircraft accounting for the majority.
The upper limit of the Korean domestic market is there, so that the international route passenger source provided by Muhua Airlines alone accounts for a quarter of the passengers. If this part of the passenger source disappears, it is very likely to become the last straw that breaks the camel's back for Asiana Airlines.
"President Cui, you have already said that your competition with Asiana Airlines is a normal business behavior. I will naturally not care about it. But do you think it is appropriate for you to use me as a tool like this?"
Cui Xiangdao looked a little embarrassed: "Boss Ma, you are joking. From a cost perspective, it is indeed more cost-effective to use Boeing 777 to fly to Europe and the United States."
"President Cui, I also like to play dumb. But if you still play dumb with me at this time, I understand that you don't have the sincerity to continue the discussion with me." Ma Cheng said indifferently: "President Cui, can I think so?"
Cui Xiangdao moved his mouth, but this fleeting mouth movement was accurately captured by Ma Cheng.
"President Cui, I understand lip reading and I know some Korean." Ma Cheng raised a finger: "This won't happen again."
Cui Xiangdao took a deep breath and said, "Boss Ma, you are taking advantage of the situation."
"You came to me and begged me to rob you." Ma Cheng returned to his chair, sat on it, and said coldly, "President Cui, I have only met you once. We don't have a long-term relationship. Besides, you are the one who needs my help now, so I don't want to waste my time."
Ma Cheng's meaning was very clear. From a personal perspective, the two of them could not be considered friends in any way. So no matter how much Cui Xiangdao appealed to his emotions or tried to reason with him, Ma Cheng would always act in the interests of the company.
From the perspective of corporate interests, Muhua Airlines is now in a safe position. It is time for Cui Xiangdao to show his cards instead of letting Ma Cheng make a choice.
"Boss Ma is really a quick-witted person." Cui Xiangdao raised two fingers and said, "20%. If Muhua Airlines cooperates with us, we only want 20% of the profit. How about that?"
Even Ma Cheng was slightly surprised. You know, before this, their cooperation with Asiana Airlines was only 60% to 40%, with Muhua Airlines taking 60% and Asiana Airlines taking 40%. But Korean Airlines only wanted 20% of the profit. This was really a big concession.
Ma Cheng narrowed his eyes and suddenly laughed: "Is this your bottom line?"
Ma Cheng's reaction made Cui Xiangdao a little unsure: "Boss Ma, isn't 20/80 enough?"
After all, the final, longest section to Europe and America was undertaken by our side. We put in the most effort, but ended up taking 20% of the profit. This sincerity was absolutely huge.
But why does Cui Xiangdao still feel unsatisfied when he sees Ma Cheng’s expression?
"It depends on what profit sharing Asiana offers."
Cui Xiangdao looked unhappy: "Boss Ma, are you so thorough in waiting for a good price?"
However, Ma Cheng would not be affected by Cui Xiangdao's sarcasm. Real benefits are what matter.
He raised his eyelids and asked back, "Are you done?"
Cui Xiangdao's breath was choked. Ma Cheng's words clearly meant he was leaving. Cui Xiangdao was indeed dissatisfied with Ma Cheng's attitude, but he just didn't want to stay here any longer. Every second he stayed here, Cui Xiangdao would worry that he would lose control of his temper.
Cui Xiangdao stood up slowly and bowed like a gentleman: "Then I'll trouble Mr. Ma to think about it."
Ma Cheng just nodded and didn't even say the polite words to see him off.
The corners of Cui Xiangdao's mouth twitched a few times, but he still held it back and left Ma Cheng's office silently.
Just after Cui Xiangdao left, the door to the inner room of the office was pushed open, and Xu Cang walked out slowly, still muttering: "It's good to be a big boss. The office is equipped with an inner bedroom. What a treatment."
Ma Cheng yawned. “Is it necessary to make such a fuss about a place where you can squint your eyes?”
"Oh, the squinting place." Xu Cang shrugged and pointed inside: "But why are there women in there..."
Ma Cheng was originally still lazy, but he suddenly slammed the table and shouted: "Xu Cang, there are some things you can't say casually."
"Okay, okay, I must have seen it wrong." Xu Cang sat on the sofa with a smile: "It's just that I didn't expect Mr. Ma to have such a unique taste."
"Xu Cang!" Ma Cheng's eyes widened, and the two words contained a strong nasal tone, and he seemed a little angry.
"Never mind, let's get down to business, business."
Ma Cheng snorted heavily: "Did you hear what Daehan's president said just now?"
"Yeah!" Xu Cang nodded. "I didn't expect Korean Air and Asiana Airlines to fight like this. I overestimated Korean Air and underestimated Asiana Airlines."
"Asia Airlines was established only 12 years ago, and it has been going smoothly since its establishment. It has also taken advantage of the economic takeoff in Asia, and its foundation cannot be underestimated. Korean Air has the advantage of being established earlier than Asiana Airlines, otherwise it would be hard to say who would be the attacker and who would be the defender now."
"But Korean Air was established 26 years earlier than Asiana Airlines. It had such a big head start. How come it is in such a mess now?"
"Korean Airlines started out with second-hand aircraft. It was very difficult in the early days of its business. It was not as high as Asiana Airlines." Ma Cheng said a few words casually, and then turned to the main topic: "So what do you mean, helping Korean Airlines or Asiana Airlines?"
Xu Cang was a little surprised: "Are you willing to assist?"
"Haha, Xu Cang! I can see that you are targeting Asiana Airlines. You have a lot of tricks, and I really didn't expect them." Ma Cheng laughed, "But I think there is something I need to remind you in advance. Other smaller airlines are fine, but Asiana Airlines is the second largest airline in South Korea. Do you think the South Korean government will watch foreign capital acquire the second largest airline in the country? Xu Cang, I am worried that you will fail in the end after all your efforts, which will not be a good thing."
Xu Cang crossed his arms and said, "When did you start worrying about me?"
"Are you playing dumb with me too?" Ma Cheng said, "You really need to think about your situation. You want to acquire Asiana Airlines, at least the nominal acquisition entity must be a Korean company. So, first of all, you must own a company in Korea. You can set up a company, you can acquire a company. However, no matter which one, you need to go through a long period of official procedures in Korea. By the time you have completed the procedures and have the acquisition qualifications, it will be too late. Xu Cang, your idea of acquiring Asiana Airlines was a sudden idea, and there are many omissions."
Xu Cang's nails scraped on the leather sofa, making a physically uncomfortable sound: "The acquisition of Asiana Airlines was indeed a spur-of-the-moment decision, but the omission you mentioned does not exist..."
Ma Cheng was a little bit incredulous: "You mean... you already have the qualifications to acquire, and you have industries in Korea? No, even if you acquire a ready-made Korean company now, it would be too late. Since you said that it was a spur-of-the-moment decision, it is impossible to acquire a Korean company in advance, or you already had a layout in Korea before. No, it doesn't make sense."
Facing Ma Cheng who had completely confused him, Xu Cang smiled slightly: "To be precise, there is not yet, but it will be soon."
Ma Cheng was silent for a while. He could understand every word Xu Cang said, but he couldn't understand them when they were put together.
"You are becoming more and more mysterious." Ma Cheng did not ask further: "By the way, you haven't told me who you want me to support?"
Xu Cang looked far-sighted: "Do you really want to help me? Korean Airlines and Asiana Airlines are fighting to the death. You can completely rely on this fight to gain huge benefits instead of considering my opinion. This is not in line with your behavior habits."
"It seems that you are not pretending to be confused, but you haven't received the news yet?" Ma Cheng smiled and said, "It's okay, the Southwest Bureau and Jianchuan Airport Group will contact you soon. By then, you will understand your new position."
Xu Cang raised his eyebrows and said, "It doesn't look like bad news. If you really want to hear my opinion, just wait and see. I'm going to England soon to deal with some things, and we'll talk about everything after I come back."
"England?" Ma Cheng immediately thought of a possibility: "Go to Luo Luo?"
"Yeah." Xu Cang did not hide it.
Ma Cheng couldn't help but sigh: "Xu Cang, if you can overcome this hurdle of Luo Luo, you will be like a fish leaping over the dragon gate and a flying dragon in the sky."
Xu Cang's eyes also gleamed with a gleam of brilliance. Yes, the Rolls-Royce flight test would indeed be a turning point in his life.
"By the way, you are about to go abroad, why did you come here specially? What's the urgent matter?"
Because Cui Xiangdao came over suddenly, Xu Cang hadn't really talked to Ma Cheng about the matter yet.
"I have something to ask of you, Mr. Ma."
"Oh? Tell me about it." At this time, Ma Cheng was quite willing to do Xu Cang a favor.
Xu Cang's expression gradually became serious: "You said before that if necessary, I can call on Muhua's legal department."
"Yes, I did say that." Ma Cheng was a little interested: "What's the matter? Did you encounter any legal problems? If nothing else, our Muhua's legal department is still pretty good."
Xu Cang nodded: "There are some legal issues."
"What?"
Xu Cang's voice was slightly deep: "Minzhuang air crash compensation case!"
…
The next night, Xu Cang was already on the plane. His destination was naturally the UK, and the airline he was taking was the Kingfisher Airlines that Song Xinyang had mentioned before.
Just as Song Xinyang said, Kingfisher Airlines does not have a first-class cabin, only a second-class business class. However, Xu Cang is not a person who is too particular, so business class is business class, which is not a big deal.
On the plane, Xu Cang read a magazine for a while, which included some news about Kingfisher Airlines. Magazines of other airlines all boasted about themselves in various ways, but Kingfisher Airlines' magazine had basically no relevant content, which was quite strange.
Ever since he mentioned taking a Kingfisher Airlines flight, Xu Cang may have subconsciously paid attention to the news about Kingfisher Airlines and found that Kingfisher Airlines' finances seemed to be extremely bad recently and it was on the verge of bankruptcy.
Xu Cang didn't know much about Kingfisher Airlines, even before his rebirth. He didn't know whether Kingfisher Airlines had ever experienced a low period at this stage in history, but there was one thing Xu Cang was sure of, Kingfisher Airlines would have a very good life in the future, which meant that this financial crisis was only temporary.
For some reason, Xu Cang suddenly had an idea in his mind. If he could buy Kingfisher Airlines at the bottom of its trough, then Kingfisher Airlines would definitely be a real potential stock.
However, Xu Cang now intends to use the funds he has accumulated on Asiana Airlines. If he divides them up on Kingfisher Airlines, the funds would be a bit stretched.
However, when he encountered such a good opportunity to buy at the bottom, Xu Cang felt as uncomfortable as if he was being scratched by a cat's claws.
At first, Xu Cang tried to comfort himself that there would be other opportunities in the future, but the more he thought about it, the angrier he became. In the end, he couldn't even bear to read the magazine. He stuffed the magazine back, changed into slippers, pushed the chair back, put on an eye mask, and went straight to bed.
He didn't know how long he slept. When Xu Cang woke up with a dry mouth , the lights in the cabin had been dimmed. Many passengers seemed to have started to rest, leaving only a few people with their reading lights on.
The rumbling sound of the engine was still echoing in my ears. This time I was on a Boeing 747. I guess this plane is an old one. The engine made a wheezing sound and was very noisy.
However, when people are in a noisy environment for a long time, they will gradually get used to the noise, so Xu Cang felt it was okay.
Xu Cang had just woken up, and he certainly couldn't fall asleep, so he thought about watching a movie. Each seat in the business class had an independent video entertainment system, and one could order movies on demand. However, the selection was limited to the thirty movies provided by the airline. For this reason, the flight attendant also provided headphones to everyone to avoid disturbing others.
During the movie, Xu Cang had to go to the toilet. He was in the business class at the front, so he naturally went to the bathroom at the front. When Xu Cang got up and went to the front, he found that there was no one in the workroom at the front, it was empty, which was very strange.
The 747 does have a crew rest area, and it is normal for the crew to take turns to rest in the rest area, but there are usually people watching over the front and rear workrooms. How could there be no one there?
However, although Xu Cang felt rather strange, he did not take it too seriously. Perhaps the people in the front cabin workshop had gone to the back for something.
He looked for the bathroom, but when he got closer, he found that the sign next to the door handle indicated that someone was inside.
Xu Cang scratched his head. He was not in a hurry, so he did not wait any longer. He planned to go back and sit down first and come back later. However, just as Xu Cang turned around, there was a loud bang in the bathroom. Xu Cang was startled and looked back suspiciously.
Just when Xu Cang hadn't figured out what the noise was, a groan suddenly sounded from the bathroom. The sound was so soft and faint that Xu Cang couldn't tell whether it was a man or a woman.
This time, Xu Cang was stunned.
"Is going to the toilet so exciting?" Xu Cang muttered to himself. His first thought was that the person inside was constipated and was exerting force.
Xu Cang felt that the people inside would not be able to come out for a while, so he returned to his seat.
After returning to his seat, Xu Cang ordered the movie "The Matrix", but when he put on the headphones, he only wore one side. He also paid some attention to the front cabin, paying attention to when the people in the bathroom in front would come out.
After waiting for about ten minutes, Xu Cang was so absorbed in watching the movie that he forgot to look ahead. He leaned forward to take another look and found that the flight attendant in the front cabin was back.
So Xu Cang pressed the call bell. Soon, a blond, blue-eyed, tall and hot stewardess came over. Just looking at her head, Xu Cang felt that she was only a little shorter than him, which was quite exaggerated among women.
"Sir, is there anything I can help you with?" The flight attendant's voice was so slippery, as if it was soaked in water, that any man would be distracted after hearing it.
Moreover, for some reason, Xu Cang could feel that this flight attendant was full of charm, and his eyes were almost drawn. Especially the smell on her body, in addition to the regular perfume, there seemed to be some other smells.
"Is the bathroom in front available?" Xu Cang said something very simple in English.
The flight attendant replied Yes.
Xu Cang seemed oblivious to the flight attendant's charming aura. When he heard that the bathroom was available, he immediately started to fasten his seat belt.
During this time, the flight attendant did not leave, but suddenly asked: "Sir, are you from Rolls-Royce?"
Xu Cang's ticket was paid for by Rolls-Royce's official account, which Kingfisher Airlines could see. Xu Cang was not surprised and just nodded, "Yes."
After he agreed this time, the flight attendant's eyes lit up. Xu Cang was just bending down to unbuckle his seat belt and didn't notice it. He only heard the flight attendant say a lot of words.
Xu Cang's English was average, and he could communicate with some simple sentences, but this was a long string of words, and it seemed that the flight attendant was able to control the volume, speaking softly and quickly, so Xu Cang could only hear the word "water" in it.
Xu Cang naturally thought that the flight attendant was asking as a routine if he wanted water. Glancing at the bottle of mineral water that was almost empty, Xu Cang nodded.
After agreeing, Xu Cang unbuckled his seat belt and went straight to the bathroom.
It must be said that the 747 is not only much larger than the 737, but the bathroom is also much more spacious, unlike the 737 where there is only room to stand. Being in such a spacious bathroom, Xu Cang's mood became cheerful.
After the problem was solved, Xu Cang was still sorting out his clothes when he suddenly felt someone moving the bathroom door. The bathroom door lock on the plane actually had no anti-lock function, so it was difficult to stop someone from outside if they wanted to come in.
At first, Xu Cang thought that the people outside didn't see the sign that someone was inside, so he knocked on the door to indicate that someone was inside. Usually, with this action, people outside can know.
As a result, just as Xu Cang was tidying up his clothes, he suddenly heard the door lock open.
"What? Didn't you hear me?" Xu Cang turned around and was about to speak directly. But when he turned around, he was half scared out of his wits.
The person who opened the door was not another passenger, but the flight attendant who had just spoken to him. Moreover, it seemed that the flight attendant did not open the door by mistake, as she squeezed in directly after opening the door.
"I fucking…"
All the hairs on Xu Cang's body stood up. What was this flight attendant doing? Was he blind?
Xu Cang wanted to get the flight attendant out first, but the flight attendant actually unbuttoned a button of his shirt even though he clearly saw Xu Cang among them.
Even if one button is loosened, the greatness is already bursting out.
At this point, even if Xu Cang was slow-witted, he understood what had happened.
"no!"
Xu Cang raised his hand to stop the flight attendant from having an in-depth conversation with him, and then the flight attendant licked his lips, gave him a seductive look, and put one hand on the button of Xu Cang's shirt.
