In the small garden in the square in front of the JAL hotel, Xu Cang sat on a stone bench. Next to him, Xia Shuyue stood quietly, her lively eyes blinking, looking a little playful.
Xu Cang patted the stone bench next to him and said, "Sit down, why are you standing?"
"I like to stand, you sit down." Xia Shuyue chuckled: "You are not injured, right? I heard that you did something dangerous in Europe."
Xu Cang sat up straighter and said with a wry smile: "Shouldn't I be the one asking you this?"
"I'm fine. They called me out that night, but I wasn't very... willing, so I didn't go out. However, later on, the people from ANA asked us to leave, and there were quite a few unfriendly people outside, which was a bit scary." Xia Shuyue said seriously.
"That's it?" Xu Cang still didn't quite believe it. Given Xia Shuyue's personality, there was a chance that she would deliberately downplay the seriousness of the matter: "It's no big deal."
Xia Shuyue finally stopped standing and sat next to Xu Cang: "No more, you don't believe me?"
Xu Cang looked closely at Xia Shuyue's creamy skin, breathed in the fresh fragrance, and sighed: "Forget it, I believe you."
Xia Shuyue's eyes curved into little crescents and her nose wrinkled: "You still don't believe me."
"I believe it, I believe it." Xu Cang smiled bitterly and said, "Then pack up and come back with me?"
Anyway, the training in Japan started off well but ended badly, and there is no need to stay any longer.
"Japan Airlines President Nagano Hideki asked me to ask you, they can complete some of the subsequent qualification training work on behalf of ANA." Xia Shuyue blinked: "Do you need to ask?"
"Japan Airlines is going to take over?" Xu Cang was stunned.
Japan Airlines is naturally very strong, and it has all kinds of qualification training. It is easy for them to take over the training work. However, Xu Cang did not quite understand Japan Airlines' intentions, which seemed a bit too proactive.
Xia Shuyue nodded: "Yes, President Nagano said so, and you won't be bothered by the training fees."
Xia Shuyue raised her hands and said, "I am just repeating his words without mixing in any personal thoughts."
"It's okay." Xu Cang laughed: "I will ask the cabin department. I don't know much about the training of flight attendants. Maybe someone will be needed to connect with Japan Airlines at that time."
"So you're suggesting that you complete the rest of your training here?"
"Of course, there will be international routes in the future, and people will be needed."
Xia Shuyue was a little surprised: "Our company is going to open international routes?"
"Originally, the Tokyo-Shanghai and Tokyo-Yangcheng routes were to be given to ANA according to the agreement, but the situation is different now. I don't really want to give it directly to JAL. I think it's better to operate it myself." Xu Cang smiled and said, "What do you think? The situation in Shanghai is easier to solve. There are already several planes parked at the airport there. The Yangcheng airport is a little more difficult to handle. We can't just put a plane there for the Tokyo-Yangcheng route. The cost will be difficult to control. In the future, we should think about how to expand some routes with Yangcheng as the center, so that the cost-effectiveness of putting planes in Yangcheng will be higher."
Xu Cang had spent a lot of effort to smooth the relationship between Shanghai and Guangzhou, but he did get it done, but in the end he couldn't use it, which was speechless. However, the Tokyo-Shanghai and Tokyo-Yangcheng routes are still very good. The time is not very long, and both can be operated with models such as 737 or 320, which is more convenient for cost control. According to the results of previous market research, the occupancy rate of the two routes is also quite good, which can be regarded as rare high-quality routes.
Since ANA is so blind, Xu Cang can only accept it himself.
However, Spring Airlines does not have the corresponding qualifications and experience to operate international routes. Therefore, Xia Shuyue did not expect that Xu Cang would have any ideas about operating China-Japan routes.
Previously, because of the good relationship with Zhou Yanping of Tiandong Airlines and the mediation of Qin Yi of Spring and Summer Travel, the situation in Shanghai was not a big problem. Not only did they park several planes at the Shanghai airport, but they also opened several domestic routes in Shanghai. Compared with the struggling base airport routes, the profitability was quite good.
In Yangcheng, since Ma Cheng of Muhua Airlines has a cooperation with Xu Cang, it should not be a problem to park the plane at Yangcheng Airport, but we can only find a way to open up Yangcheng routes on our own.
After all, the cooperation with Ma Cheng is still more of a pure interest relationship, so just stop at the right point.
Qin Yi helped solve part of the route problems in Shanghai. After all, the headquarters of Spring and Summer Airlines is in Shanghai, and Qin Yi's main network of contacts is also in Shanghai, so he is relatively well-connected. But in Guangzhou, Xu Cang really doesn't have any friends who are more influential.
Yangcheng has little advantage over Hanjing and Shanghai on international routes, but this is not necessarily the case on domestic routes. After all, there are two first-tier cities there, which have received a large number of domestic population flows and have always performed well in the domestic market.
For example, the Hanjing-Yangcheng route that the bureau gave to Xu Cang before is a golden route. If Yangcheng flies to a second-class city, it is basically quite profitable. Of course, it is hard to say about the lower-class cities. For example, the Yangcheng-Jianchuan route is not very profitable, so it was used as a bet by Lu Jinghua before.
Moreover, people like Shi Lingling who have extensive connections are concentrated in Hanjing and Shanghai. For example, it was Shi Lingling who took the lead in breaking the deadlock in Shanghai, but their connections in the south are a little weak.
When I return to China, I will have to discuss this with Shi Lingling in more detail.
To be honest, although Xu Cang is very powerful now, and Xu Cang and Spring Airlines are one in a sense, they are not completely equal after all. Therefore, when it comes to company affairs, there are still some things that I feel I am unable to handle. Basically, Xu Cang is dragging Spring Airlines on his own, but Xu Cang is only one person and it is impossible for him to do everything.
However, as Rolls-Royce will cooperate to build an engine maintenance factory in China, all domestic airlines using Rolls-Royce engines will basically need help from Xu Cang. At the airline level, the resistance encountered should not be too great.
What you need to worry about next is the opinions of the relevant regional administration.
Among the several regional management bureaus, the one in the south is the more complicated, and Xu Cang has to think carefully about how to convince the Southern Bureau.
Basically, in order to facilitate a route, the airline, the airport and the Civil Aviation Administration must all work out the issues.
"Putting planes in Yangcheng?" Xia Shuyue asked curiously, "Do we have enough planes? It seems that we don't have enough."
This is related to the company's operating strategy. If ordinary people asked Xu Cang, Xu Cang might not answer. However, if Xia Shuyue asked, Xu Cang would still be happy to tell her.
"I originally planned to transfer aircraft from Kingfisher Airlines, but the European market is overheated now, and Kingfisher Airlines does not have enough aircraft. I guess it will be impossible to transfer more. In addition, after the Xianchi branch of Muhua Airlines is officially incorporated into our company, we can adjust the capacity internally. The aircraft fleet of the Xianchi branch is still quite strong."
That's right, after failing to count on Kingfisher Airlines, Xu Cang has placed his hopes on the Xianchi branch. As Xu Cang said, Kingfisher Airlines is expected to turn losses into profits in the first month after the release of the euro. This ability to make money is much stronger than that of Spring Airlines. It is more cost-effective to leave the aircraft to Kingfisher Airlines.
Even if Kingfisher Airlines says it can complete the purchase of new aircraft through financing on its own, at certain necessary moments, Xu Cang may need to provide additional financial support to Kingfisher Airlines.
There is no way. The European market is too hot now. It is easy to raise funds, but too much financing will easily dilute his control over Kingfisher Airlines. If necessary, Xu Cang will allocate funds to Kingfisher Airlines.
Due to the overheated European market, the leasing and sales market for international large passenger aircraft has been extremely hot in recent times. Even if you have money and want to rent or buy an aircraft, you still have to queue up.
If Xu Cang wants to complete the upgrade of the Spring Airlines headquarters fleet in a short period of time and control the cost as much as possible, he can only make internal adjustments after completing the acquisition of Muhua Airlines Xianchi Branch.
Muhua Airlines Xianchi Branch originally had a deep foundation, and with its subsequent development, its fleet quality was very high. For the Xianchi Branch, which mainly serves the northwest, the current fleet size is even a bit too large, and allocating some aircraft will not have any impact on the Xianchi Branch.
However, the boss of the Xianchi branch also has a bad temper. Even with Mr. Bi’s reminder, it is still hard to settle the situation.
“So should we buy a wide-body aircraft?”
Xu Cang shook his head: "No way, it's too early for wide-body aircraft, and I haven't decided which wide-body aircraft to buy."
“Isn’t the Airbus 330 pretty good?”
“I don’t like that airplane.”
Xia Shuyue was a little puzzled: "Why? Is there something wrong with the plane?"
"That's not the case." Xu Cang smiled and said, "I just think the 330 is ugly. I prefer the Boeing 777, but the Boeing 777 is too expensive and I can't afford it."
“You’re not going to buy a 747, are you?”
Xu Cang scratched his head: "I don't know. The 747 is too big, and the operating environment is limited. Let's wait and see. The reason why we chose to start with the routes to China, Japan and South Korea is mainly because the routes to these three countries can be operated by 737 series aircraft, so there is no need to purchase additional wide-body aircraft."
At the end, Xu Cang couldn't help but ask Xia Shuyue about her future plans: "I think Guan Yueling has mentioned it to you before. I was originally inclined to keep you in ANA's aviation school to learn flying. There are experiences specifically for female pilots there, and it will be much more convenient during your flying training. The current situation... is more complicated..."
"You don't have to find a flight school specifically for female pilots for me to learn flight courses. It's fine with me." Xia Shuyue said, "I can go to a domestic flight school."
However, Xu Cang rejected Xia Shuyue's proposal: "No, there is no experience in training female pilots in China?"
At this time, Xu Cang's behavior and remarks were actually quite subtle, and Xia Shuyue saw it all. She didn't dare to look at Xu Cang anymore, but pursed her lips and asked, " What should do?"
Xu Cang frowned: "It's a bit difficult."
"Xu Cang!" Xia Shuyue suddenly called out Xu Cang's name.
Xu Cang was startled: "What's wrong?"
"How about you teach me?" Xia Shuyue chuckled: "If you teach me, there will be no problem, right?"
This proposal stunned Xu Cang.
"Should I teach you?" Xu Cang did not give an immediate answer, but lowered his head and thought for a moment.
Xia Shuyue tilted her head and moved closer to Xu Cang: "Is it not possible?"
"It's not impossible, but I need to take the instructor's license exam." At this time, Xu Cang had already started to make some plans in his mind. He continued, "I have a private business license, so it shouldn't be difficult to take the instructor's license exam as well."
This is not because Xu Cang is optimistic, but it is indeed quite common. For example, aviation schools often choose some outstanding graduates to stay in school as instructors. This is a very common behavior and it is indeed not difficult.
Xu Cang has complete private commercial instrument certificates, or in other words, he has all the 121 commercial operation co-pilot certificates. It is indeed not difficult to get an instructor certificate, but if he wants to do it as soon as possible, it will still be quite tiring.
Xu Cang habitually raised his hand and pinched Xia Shuyue's snow-white neck. Xia Shuyue did not resist like a kitten and slightly shrank her neck, looking very cute.
"Let me make a call." Xu Cang took out his cell phone, searched in the address book for a long time, found the number of his senior brother Zhu Ming, and quickly called him.
Soon, the call was connected, and the voice of Zhu Ming, the flight captain of Phoenix Aviation School, came from the other end: "Why are you calling me suddenly? Our boss has no intention of lowering the price."
When Xu Cang was chatting with Zhu Ming before, he mentioned the purchase of Phoenix Aviation School. However, there is a shortage of flight trainees in China now, and those who run aviation schools are making a lot of money. The authorities are also restricting the issuance of aviation school licenses, so the cost of acquiring aviation schools is naturally rising. As a result, Xu Cang feels that the price of acquiring aviation schools is outrageous, and he said that he would wait until the market cools down before making any decisions.
"Big Brother, I'm not talking about buying the aviation school. I just want to ask you something."
"Tell me, what's the matter?"
Xu Cang organized his words a little: "I want to take the exam for an instructor certificate from an aviation school. I think your aviation school can provide relevant services."
Zhu Ming guessed that he was sleeping and his mind was not clear. It took him a while to react before he asked uncertainly, "Do you want to return Part 141?"
Different from Part 121, Part 141 is mainly aimed at aircraft pilot training schools, namely aviation schools.
"No, I just want to get an instructor's certificate for something. Is it troublesome?"
Zhu Ming's voice was completely clear: "No, everyone wants to transfer from the 141st to the 121st. How can you transfer from the 121st to the 141st? You want to take the instructor certificate exam, what's the point of taking that exam? Are you coming back to teach the trainees?"
"Yes!" Xu Cang answered naturally, "I want to teach students."
"Are you fucking crazy?" Zhu Mingren was stunned. "No, Xu Cang, what on earth do you want to do? Student, are you kidding me?"
"Big Brother, I want to teach students, but I only want to teach one student individually, so I need to take the instructor certificate exam. Later on, I may need to borrow the venue and aircraft of your aviation school."
Zhu Ming was obviously stunned for a long time: "You want to teach one person alone? Why not let someone else teach? There are so many instructors in the aviation school."
"No! I will teach myself." Xu Cang said directly and firmly.
"Xu Cang..." Zhu Ming was also very smart and quickly realized that Xu Cang was different: "Could it be that the person you want to teach is... your sister-in-law?"
"Big Brother, just tell me if it's okay."
Seeing that Xu Cang was getting a little angry, Zhu Ming laughed out loud : "I understand, I understand! Our junior brother has finally come to his senses. He took the 141st Department Instructor Certificate just to pick up girls. You are unprecedented. I admire you."
Xu Cang snorted heavily: "Zhu Ming!"
Xu Cang called him by his name, and Zhu Ming knew that if he continued teasing, Xu Cang would get angry and embarrassed, so he quickly said, "Okay, okay, okay, okay, Senior Brother will do it for you right away, hahahaha."
Hearing this, Xu Cang hung up the phone without stopping.
Xia Shuyue looked at Xu Cang with some curiosity: "What's wrong? Is there any problem?"
"It's okay. My senior brother doesn't keep his mouth shut." Xu Cang put the phone back into his pocket. "It should be fine now. You should take a physical examination first, get your pilot certificate, and then learn the theory. We'll do it together."
To become a flight trainee, you first need to undergo a physical examination. Xu Cang also needs to ask his master Chen Xiangdong for some inside information to see which area will be recruiting pilots soon. Only after passing the physical examination can you get a flight trainee certificate and start learning.
Xia Shuyue nodded heavily: "Well, okay!"
Xu Cang took back his left hand that was pinching Xia Shuyue's neck: "You seem to have lost some weight."
"Yeah." Xia Shuyue responded as softly as a mosquito: "My appetite has not been very good recently."
"You're worrying too much." Xu Cang gently tapped Xia Shuyue's forehead: "You're not that old, what are you thinking about all day long?"
As he spoke, Xu Cang stood up and asked, "Where's Nagano Hideki?"
"President Nagano just went out on an urgent matter and said he won't be back until tomorrow."
Xu Cang hummed: "Then let's stay here for one night. I'm a little tired from all the traveling. Let's look for him tomorrow."
As he said that, Xu Cang waved his hand: "Walk with me for a while."
…
In the office of the deputy director of the Civil Aviation Administration of China in Hanjing , Chen Xiangdong looked at a document on the desk with a solemn expression, his right hand clenched into a fist, his lips tightly pursed, and he looked very serious.
Suddenly, the office door was pushed open, and Wu Yue, director of the Feibiao Department, stepped out with a piece of paper in his hand.
"Have you thought about how to receive the ICAO delegation?" Wu Yue also looked a little uneasy. "This is a critical moment for our CAAC to be promoted to a Class 1 director. We cannot afford to make any mistakes."
Chen Xiangdong pushed aside the documents on his desk and held his forehead with his right hand: "I know, I have a headache."
"You are responsible for receiving the ICAO inspection team this time, so you have to pay attention. If you do well, it will be a merit. If you do poorly, you will have to be punished later... Anyway, you have to be extremely careful." Wu Yue found a chair to sit down and glanced at the documents on Chen Xiangdong's desk, which were the personnel information of the ICAO inspection team.
Seeing the personnel list, Wu Yue raised his eyebrows: "What a strong lineup, the chief engineers of EASA and FAA are here!"
"I'm really impressed. It's just a routine inspection, but the personnel are of such high level." Chen Xiangdong was also overwhelmed. He had never seen an inspection team of this level. It was indeed a serious matter.
Wu Yue smiled and said, "If it's just a formality like before, even if it's done beautifully, it won't mean anything. It's just that your level is so high, it's very important for you to get this done."
"But I heard that the chief engineers of EASA and FAA are people who only care about technology, and they are very skilled. If these two people want to compete, I don't know if we can handle it." Chen Xiangdong became worried.
In the final analysis, the only criterion for judging a pilot's performance is his martial arts skills. If he is skilled in martial arts, he should also be three points more skilled in speaking.
The chief engineers of EASA and FAA were once the chief test pilot of Airbus and Boeing respectively. Their skills are so outstanding that they can't be described as tough.
To be honest, Chen Xiangdong was a little worried about this.
If these two people proposed some technical exchanges and CAAC did not accept it, it would be embarrassing.
"This is a critical moment for us to be promoted to Class 1 Directors. They are probably well prepared and may not be good people." Wu Yue also became worried after hearing what Chen Xiangdong said: "If we lose in the technical exchange, it will be difficult to deal with it."
Chen Xiangdong's face was extremely gloomy: "That's the chief engineer of EASA and FAA..."
EASA and FAA are the regions with the highest aviation level in the world. How high are the levels of the chief designers in these two places?
It's not that Chen Xiangdong is trying to boost others' morale and destroy his own prestige, but it's a real fact. Nowadays, the older pilots are all trained in Europe and the United States. In terms of flying, he is the apprentice. Now the master is going to test the apprentice's weight, how can Chen Xiangdong not worry.
"No matter what, we can't afford to make any mistakes this time." Wu Yue licked his lips: "Old Chen, how about...let Xu Cang come over?"