Chapter 239: Air battle! Air battle!
"Is this something a regular flight attendant would do?" In the security room at Heathrow Airport in the UK, Xu Cang frowned as he faced Song Xinyang. The protruding blue veins on his forehead undoubtedly showed Xu Cang's irritable heart.
Song Xinyang, who was standing by, tried to hold back his laughter: "She probably didn't think of becoming a proper flight attendant, did she?"
"Even if you are a human, you can't do this. This is something a human can do. Do you still have any sense of shame?"
Song Xinyang looked at the angry Xu Cang and said with a smile: "Xu Cang, I didn't expect you to be so conservative. Is it hard to accept doing... that kind of thing on a plane?"
"What?" Xu Cang was startled, and his first move was to distance himself from Song Xinyang: "There's something wrong with you!"
Song Xinyang knew that Xu Cang had misunderstood something, so he held his forehead and quickly waved his hand: "I didn't! I just said that although this kind of thing is not common, it is definitely not uncommon. Some flight attendants have evil intentions and specifically target passengers in first class or business class on international routes, but you don't know it."
"F*ck..." Xu Cang rubbed his temple. This trip to the UK really opened Xu Cang's eyes.
Yes, Song Xinyang saw clearly that Xu Cang was very conservative and traditional in matters between men and women. From a rational and logical point of view, Xu Cang could understand what Song Xinyang said. After all, those who could sit in first class and business class on international flights generally had better financial capabilities and were considered high-quality customers for certain services.
However, when Xu Cang encountered it, all his three views were shattered.
"She must have known the passenger information and mistook you for one of our senior executives." Song Xinyang smiled even more brightly: "I just saw the flight attendant, she looked delicious, why not go with the flow?"
Xu Cang's face suddenly turned cold: "Song Xinyang, I am not a casual person. Don't judge me with your dirty thoughts."
"Wow, I didn't realize you were so young, but your mind is still as freshly dug out as before."
Xu Cang snorted and said nothing more. If we are on different paths, we cannot make plans together!
The British policeman in the security room saw that Xu Cang and Song Xinyang were speaking Chinese, which he could not understand, so he strongly requested that Xu Cang and Song Xinyang only communicate in English and not in a language he could not understand.
However, Song Xinyang seemed to be well prepared. He lowered his head and whispered to the police for a moment. Then, the police made a phone call, and within a quarter of an hour, Xu Cang was able to leave.
"Kingfisher Airlines has had a major financial problem recently, and its employees have also been affected, so some flight attendants have started to make extra money," Song Xinyang explained. "But you know what, this extra money makes much more than their regular job."
Song Xinyang kept talking to himself until he caught a glimpse of Xu Cang's dark face and then he shut up.
After walking for a while, Xu Cang, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up: "Is the situation of Kingfisher Airlines very bad?"
"Isn't it? Otherwise, why would those flight attendants want to make extra money?" Song Xinyang didn't think much about Xu Cang's words and just treated it as a casual question from Xu Cang.
Xu Cang continued to ask: "How did it lead to the current situation?"
"Are you talking about Kingfisher Airlines?" Song Xinyang actually knew some inside information: "Kingfisher Airlines follows a similar path to your company. At the beginning, it focused on routes within Europe and developed very quickly. However, perhaps because the early stage was too smooth, Kingfisher Airlines subsequently expanded rapidly and soon hit the ceiling of the low-end and mid-range markets, resulting in an extreme overcapacity. Kingfisher Airlines now has a full 60 aircraft, but only one-third of them can maintain a relatively normal utilization rate."
"If airplanes don't fly, they're just a money-losing operation. Forty airplanes are constantly grounded, and another twenty are grounded intermittently. Who can handle that?"
"It shouldn't be. Is the ceiling of Europe's low- and mid-end market so low?" In Xu Cang's opinion, Europe's low- and mid-end market should be quite huge.
Europe is not too big, so it is just right to use a regional type Boeing 737 or Airbus 320. To be honest, the living standard in Europe is indeed very high, but this does not mean that there is no market for the middle and low end. After all, poverty is relative, and the majority of civilians still prefer to choose low-cost airlines with higher cost performance.
In addition, European civil aviation developed earlier. There, flying is not considered a very fashionable thing and has a broad mass base. Therefore, as long as the price is lowered, the low-end and mid-end market is definitely quite vast. How come even Kingfisher Airlines can't be satisfied?
"Who knows?"
Song Xinyang didn't bother to care about Kingfisher Airlines, but Xu Cang was lost in deep thought. He vaguely remembered that the ownership of Kingfisher Airlines seemed to have never changed, which meant that Kingfisher Airlines had weathered this huge crisis on its own.
According to Song Xinyang, Kingfisher Airlines is almost dead. It has expanded too much and has made a mess of itself. With such a poor aircraft utilization rate, it would be strange if it could recover.
But according to historical development, Kingfisher Airlines has really made a comeback and has soared to new heights. What factors have enabled Kingfisher Airlines to survive this crisis?
Without any other capital injection, Kingfisher Airlines can only rely on itself to survive? This is not right!
"What happened next?" Xu Cang muttered.
Song Xinyang heard Xu Cang mutter: "What did you say?"
"Nothing." Xu Cang waved his hand.
…
Song Xinyang said that the flight attendant was later taken away by the police. It seems that once this matter is exposed, Kingfisher Airlines will be caught in a public opinion storm again.
In this matter, Xu Cang's privacy would be respected, which made Xu Cang very satisfied.
Originally Xu Cang was planning to go out for a walk, but his mind was full of thoughts about Kingfisher Airlines. There was no other way, Kingfisher Airlines was just too delicious.
Now Spring Airlines just doesn't have enough planes, while Kingfisher Airlines does have excess capacity, so the two sides can balance it out. Of course, the contradiction between Spring Airlines and the number of flight attendants is not obvious enough. However, if Kingfisher Airlines allocates planes, there will be many more planes at once, and Spring Airlines will not have enough staff.
However, if it really comes to that, we can temporarily borrow Kingfisher Airlines' crew. However, due to some objective factors, the actual labor cost of foreign personnel is higher than that of local pilots. Of course, it is just a matter of how much they earn.
In addition, Xu Cang is aware of the future development of Kingfisher Airlines. From a purely investment perspective, Kingfisher Airlines is definitely a potential stock with great potential.
Finally, from a long-term perspective, if Kingfisher Airlines can be acquired, it will be equivalent to having a foothold in Europe, which will make it easier for Xu Cang to open up the market in Europe in the future.
Kingfisher Airlines is indeed a very suitable choice. It is not very large and is currently in a low period. It is cheap, but it is not the type that is completely rotten. It will make a comeback in the future.
But Xu Cang's money was intended to acquire Asiana Airlines. For this purpose, Xu Cang had already set up the stage. If he gave up, wouldn't Xu Cang become a clown?
Moreover, the platform Xu Cang built was not ordinary. He also planned to take advantage of this opportunity to harvest a wave of Korean Air. If he gave up halfway, the loss would be huge.
Is it Kingfisher Airlines or Asiana Airlines?
This is a huge and frustrating problem!
Originally he was thinking of happily seeing the scenery of Britain, but now he was troubled and Xu Cang had no intention of going out to play anymore.
After losing interest, Xu Cang spent days like years in the UK. Perhaps sensing Xu Cang's tormenting experience, Song Xinyang removed the middle part of the tour after obtaining Xu Cang's consent and moved up the signing process.
As Song Xinyang said, the person who signed the agreement with Xu Cang was the CEO of Rolls-Royce. However, this CEO of Rolls-Royce looked like an iceberg. When you get along with him, you can feel the coldness that keeps you away from him even from a distance.
However, the content of the agreement had been finalized before, and this time it was just a literal signature, without any extra content. As a result, Xu Cang ran halfway around the world and it took him less than five minutes to actually do the work.
Luo Luo's CEO left after signing. Xu Cang looked at the CEO's back as he left, put away his own copy of the agreement, and glanced at Song Xinyang who had not left yet: "Your leadership is more arrogant than the sky."
Song Xinyang could tell that Xu Cang was not angry, he was just teasing, so he also joked: "He is like this, few people in the company like him. By the way, what's wrong with you? All the original entertainment projects have been cancelled. Are you not in the mood?"
"If I can't get what I want, I'll naturally be in no mood." When Song Xinyang mentioned this, Xu Cang immediately thought of Kingfisher Airlines.
In the past two days, Xu Cang specifically inquired about the situation of Kingfisher Airlines. Three years ago, Kingfisher Airlines had less than 20 aircraft, and now it has tripled, but its market value has not increased but decreased compared to three years ago, and it is less than half of the original, which is simply outrageous.
Moreover, it seems that no one is willing to take over Kingfisher Airlines, which makes Kingfisher Airlines quite embarrassed. It can only watch its market value disappear day by day.
Xu Cang really wanted to take over Kingfisher Airlines, but he had no money.
"I can't get what I want? If this is your trouble, then aren't you asking for trouble?"
Just as he was sighing and feeling regretful, a man's voice suddenly came from outside the meeting room. Soon, Rolls-Royce's chief engineer Joe walked in quickly. He saw Xu Cang at a glance and extended his right hand to Xu Cang in a gentlemanly manner: "Jonathan Meyers, Rolls-Royce's chief engineer, you can just call me Joe."
Looking at the polite technical expert in front of him, Xu Cang still shook Qiao's hand: "Xu Cang! Nice to meet you!"
The two men quickly separated their hands. Qiao, who was dressed casually, pulled out a chair and sat down, and motioned Xu Cang to sit down as well. It seemed that they had a lot to talk about.
Not only Xu Cang was a little confused about the situation, to be honest, even Song Xinyang didn't know what Qiao was going to do, and it seemed that there was no relevant process arrangement. However, Qiao was the general manager of Rolls-Royce's technical department, and he was in a high position and had great power. Song Xinyang couldn't stop him from doing anything.
Xu Cang had nothing to do anyway, so he just talked and found a seat next to Qiao and sat down.
"Mr. Xu, it seems that you encountered some unhappy things when you came to the UK." Qiao laughed first.
Song Xinyang was afraid of upsetting Xu Cang, so he was about to interrupt, but Xu Cang waved his hand and said, "That matter is nothing. The main thing is something else. Forget it, let's not talk about that matter. It's very annoying."
Xu Cang suppressed his inner restlessness and said, "The Chief Engineer seems to have something important to tell me?"
"It's not a big deal. I just want to ask Mr. Xu what are your plans after successfully completing the test of the Trent 1000?"
"Haven't you guessed it all?" Xu Cang said bluntly: "Or do you foreigners also like to play dumb?"
"Hahaha, Mr. Xu is still so free and easy." Qiao didn't care about the word "foreigner". Instead, he laughed very happily: "Mr. Xu's ambitions are certainly admirable. However, aircraft engines involve many aspects and cannot be accomplished just by passion."
Xu Cang had already sensed something unusual: "What do you mean?"
"Mr. Xu, don't be so nervous. I came here with sincerity." Qiao said very sincerely: "If we can cooperate happily in the subsequent Trent 1000 tests, it will undoubtedly mean that both parties can fully improve the degree of cooperation. For example, Rolls-Royce can send some technical personnel to help you develop aircraft engines."
"What did you say?" Even with Xu Cang's temperament, he still felt incredible after hearing such words: "You shouldn't have the right to say that."
"I know what you say, 'There must be something wrong when things are not normal'." However, Joe seemed to come with great sincerity: "You can see that our Rolls-Royce is in a very difficult situation now. GM and Pratt & Whitney have a natural tendency to suppress our demands together. Two against one, we will always be the one bearing the greatest pressure. This is too disadvantageous."
Xu Cang's eyelids jumped, and he immediately realized what was going on: "So you're aiming to use us to draw your firepower. You really have a good plan, the abacus beads are flying on my face."
Qiao laughed: "Is it really so important who uses whom? What's important is not whether you can gain benefits from it? Even if you can get our three-rotor technology, you can develop a complete aircraft engine with just the three-rotor technology. You shouldn't have such an illusion, right?"
"If you get involved, what kind of self-research is that?"
"But you don't have that ability yet."
Xu Cang fixed his eyes on Qiao's face, wanting to see if the chief engineer of Rolls-Royce was making fun of him. But if he just relied on his own consciousness, it seemed that Qiao was not joking, which meant that Rolls-Royce really wanted to help Xu Cang develop aircraft engines.
However, Xu Cang only said three words: "I refuse!"
"Reject? You..." Qiao was halfway through his words when he suddenly thought of something: "You already have an idea about aircraft engines? The three-rotor technology can help you break through the high-pressure system, but what about the low-pressure system? There should be a gap in your materials as well."
If Xu Cang was at a loss in developing his own aircraft engine, the most rational and quickest way would be to use Rolls-Royce's capabilities. However, Xu Cang now had a clear view of the future and did not need to introduce Rolls-Royce's power.
If I rashly accept Luo Luo's help, I might end up inviting a wolf into my house.
Xu Cang spread his hands and said, "Forget about sending people here, but we can send people to your place."
Qiao laughed: "Why send someone here? Aren't we all offering the core three-rotor technology as a condition? What else do you want?"
"Haha, you can become one of the world's top three aeroengine giants just by relying on a three-rotor technology? Do you think I'm easy to fool?" Xu Cang snorted, "I have my own ideas and I don't need you to intervene. But if you want us to go in the direction you want, you must show sincerity."
Xu Cang's meaning was very simple. If he could complete the development of the aircraft engine according to his own ideas , then Rolls-Royce would naturally have nothing to do with it. After that, whether to oppose GM and Pratt & Whitney or stand in the same camp with Rolls-Royce was Xu Cang's own choice.
But if Luo Luo can provide better ideas, Xu Cang, who has benefited from it, will naturally give something in return and share the pressure for Luo Luo.
Song Xinyang shouted, "Xu Cang, the three-rotor machine is already our core technology, how can you still be sincere?"
"Really?" Xu Cang's eyes flashed with a teasing light, staring at Qiao with interest: "Everyone thinks that GM's carbon fiber and titanium alloy cladding fan blades are the best in the world, but many people don't know that you Rolls-Royce are also very strong in this field. How about it? What are the blades of the Trent 1000 made of? IM7 medium-long carbon fiber, titanium alloy cladding, M91 resin reinforcement material?"
Xu Cang's smile became brighter and brighter: "If you want to use us as pawns, don't you think you have to pay something?"
"IM7 medium-length carbon fiber, this..." Song Xinyang almost thought he had heard it wrong: "We can produce carbon fiber fan blades ourselves? That's not right. I saw that the fan blades of the Trent 1000 prototype were not made of carbon fiber."
"Mr. Xu, you really surprised me. You even guessed the material of the Trent 1000 blades."
Xu Cang sneered, "GM's GENx has already come out. If your Trent 1000 is not as good as the original GE90 in terms of material, then I advise you to go wherever it's cooler as soon as possible."
"Joe, are we really going to use carbon fiber blades on the Trent 1000 in the future?"
Qiao nodded: "Although the technology is not that mature, I think it can participate in the test. Xu Cang, you seem to be very concerned about carbon fiber materials. That means you haven't solved the material problem of the low-pressure system. How can you get around the material problem?"
"Reduce the duct diameter? No, that goes against the current development trend of civil aviation engines. What else can we do? Reduce the fan speed? But what about the high-pressure turbine? We can't reduce the speed of the high-pressure turbine as well, right?" At the end of his speech, Joe suddenly uttered a light exclamation: "No, I heard that Pratt & Whitney is developing a planetary gear technology that can effectively reduce the fan speed..."
Xu Cang's eyelids twitched wildly. Was this Rolls-Royce's chief engineer really a monster? He had figured out Xu Cang's thoughts in just a few words.
"Pratt & Whitney's planetary gears. Tsk tsk tsk, I have to say, Xu Cang, you are really bold in thinking. That is a technology that is still in the testing stage. How dare you bet everything on this technology? Are you sure that this technology is feasible?" Qiao asked back.
At this point in time, Pratt & Whitney's planetary gear technology is still in the research and development stage, and no one knows whether this path is right or wrong.
However, this fog does not exist for Xu Cang, who can see through the future.
"Isn't this uncertainty better?" Xu Cang said with a smile.
Qiao was stunned for a moment, then he clapped his hands and laughed: "Yes, yes, you are right! It is precisely because the future of this technology is uncertain that you have the possibility to intercept it. Mr. Xu really sees it clearly."
If Pratt & Whitney can be sure that planetary gears are an excellent technology with a promising future, then there is no reason to sell it to Xu Cang. Only when Pratt & Whitney cannot see the future clearly, will there be a possibility of transferring technology.
"But I still say that, how dare you bet your future on an uncertain technology?" Joe asked.
Uncertainty means risk, and Pratt & Whitney is unwilling to take risks, so there is the possibility of technology transfer. But isn’t Xu Cang afraid of taking risks? Why does he think that planetary gears are the solution to the problem of carbon fiber materials?
"Because he always believed that he was destiny!"
Suddenly, there was a thumping sound outside the conference room door. It was the sound of a cane hitting the floor.
The three of them looked in the direction of the voice and saw that the source of the old voice was an old man with aristocratic air at the door. He was wearing a loose-fitting suit with a loose waist and some shoulder pads, and a gray vest inside. He didn't look old at all, but instead had a feeling of being full of energy.
"Sir Capet?" Joe immediately stood up and bowed deeply to the old man with an extremely respectful attitude.
"Is it you?" Xu Cang immediately recognized that the old man was the one on the plane during the Jakarta volcanic ash incident. Xu Cang still remembered that the old man called Cape had promised to solve a problem for Xu Cang.
However, Xu Cang didn't care about Capet at all, and completely forgot about the matter and the man afterwards. But he didn't expect to see him again today.
Sir Capet just nodded slightly towards Qiao, his eyes always on Xu Cang, with a kind smile on his face: "Little guy, you have come to England, but you don't come to see me?"
"Old man, what happened in Jakarta was just an accident. I don't need you to reward me for anything..."
However, before Xu Cang finished speaking, Sir Capet raised his head and stopped him from speaking: "Just now I was planning to wait until you guys finished talking before coming out, so I happened to overhear some of your previous conversations. But I am a little curious, what exactly is it that you want but cannot get?"
Xu Cang smiled and said, "Old sir, I remember you told me before that you could help me solve a problem here in the UK. If you really insist, then what should I say?"
Sir Capet sat down slowly. Even in his old age, his eyes were still as blue as the color reflected from the sky. "Tell me."
At the side, Song Xinyang suddenly shouted, "Xu Cang! Don't talk nonsense!"
He was really afraid that Xu Cang would ask for too much and end up angering Sir Capet. Xu Cang didn't know the depths of the world and didn't know Sir Capet's identity, but they knew it clearly.
However, Sir Capet's cane hit the floor hard, followed by a cold shout: "Shut up!"
Song Xinyang was startled and quickly lowered his head, not daring to say anything else.
"You tell me!" Sir Capet said with a smile, "You better think about it carefully!"
"I've already thought about it." Xu Cang said, "You just asked me what I wanted but couldn't get. I can tell you that it's Kingfisher Airlines."
Sir Capet raised his eyebrows, while Song Xinyang looked at Xu Cang in surprise. He couldn't understand why Xu Cang had set his sights on Kingfisher Airlines. The key point was that Kingfisher Airlines was not a good asset. Now it was despised by everyone. No one wanted to sell it. How could Xu Cang be interested?
"If you want to help me..."
"Sure!" Sir Capet suddenly said, "It's just a dying low-cost airline. This is not an excessive request. Kingfisher Airlines, right? I'll give it to you."
"You..." Xu Cang originally wanted to borrow some money for a transfer. After all, this old man seemed to be quite rich. He saved him once, so it should be a reasonable request to borrow some money for a transfer, right?
But Xu Cang seemed to have underestimated this old man!
Song Xinyang's eyelids were twitching. Everyone knew that the Capet family was as wealthy as a country, and they were indeed extremely generous.
"If you accept, then the matter in Jakarta ends here, and we owe each other nothing." Sir Capet said with a smile, "But if possible, I would like you to do me a small favor."
Xu Cang was startled: "My ability is limited..."
"Don't worry, you're just fine."
"What?"
Sir Capet's smile became even brighter: "Aerial combat!"
