Chapter 358: Save Japan Airways!
In the office of the chairman of Guoda Airlines, Yue Sheng was drinking tea leisurely, and his eyes moved to Xu Cang who was sitting in the room. Compared with the previous meetings, Xu Cang seemed absent-minded this time, which was very rare.
"You look like you're worried." Yue Sheng was the first to break the quiet atmosphere, putting down the teacup with a crisp clinking sound. "If you have anything to say, we can talk about what we want to talk about later. I can still spare some time for you."
Xu Cang's eyes narrowed slightly, and he gathered his scattered thoughts: "It's okay, let's talk about it today, I will be back tomorrow."
Yue Sheng laughed and said, "You look like a 20-something, but your mind is like that of a 40-50 year old. Being mature at a young age is not a good thing. Young people should have the vigor of young people."
"Are you saying I look old?" Xu Cang retorted, "You should dye your hair. You have more white hair than the last time we met."
"Really?" Yue Sheng sat up suddenly and touched his hair: "It shouldn't be."
"You still mind this?" Xu Cang was speechless. Yue Sheng was usually very serious and looked scary, but he didn't expect that he would pay so much attention to his hair. "Look in the mirror and talk about business first. I'm in a hurry."
"Yes, yes, yes, you are busier than me." Yue Sheng raised a finger: "You should be more polite to me. Not long ago, Qin Xin asked me to do a favor, but I helped her without asking for anything. In a way, you owe me a favor."
"Are you renegotiating the joint venture routes with Asiana Airlines?" Xu Cang curled his lips and said, "It's just a scare tactic. How can it be considered a favor?"
Yue Sheng laughed: "You can't say that. I acted with her, so I should get some appearance fee. I don't ask for anything. Please be polite. You are making me lose face."
Xu Cang's expression became more serious: "I'll try my best."
"You must be hiding something, and it's not good." Yue Sheng shrugged: "Although I am very curious, let's talk business. When will we deal with the Japanese matter?"
"It's almost time. It will start in September." Xu Cang stared at Yue Sheng: "Has the money been approved?"
"Don't worry. I always believe in hitting the mark in one shot when doing things. If I don't do it, then forget it. I will do it thoroughly from the beginning. You don't have to worry about the money, but I want to get the expected returns."
Xu Cang nodded: "Of course! However, according to our agreement, only when it directly involves the interests of Guoda Airlines, otherwise I will exercise the voting rights of that part of the shares, and you will only have the right to dividends."
"Alright, alright." Yue Sheng waved his hand. "If you can really make a name for yourself in Japan, then those conditions won't be a big deal. The key is, what is your goal, Japan Airlines or All Nippon Airways?"
"I will give NUS a seat on the JAL board."
Yue Sheng immediately sat up straight: "Does that mean that ANA has become the one that was abandoned? But, didn't I hear that you helped them find the Japan-US route? I thought the relationship between your two companies was very good."
"Initially, I did consider ANA. After all, in terms of market trends, ANA is more dynamic than the outdated JAL. It is relatively easy to join forces with ANA to attack JAL, but ANA did something that made me very unhappy, and they happened to give me enough leverage during this period, so why not go with the flow?"
Yue Sheng's eyelids twitched: "Can you tell me what ANA did to make you change your mind?"
"Full of lies, short-sighted." Xu Cang snorted: "I don't think the reason for ANA's rise today is because ANA's management is so capable, it's simply because JAL is worse. However, it's a good thing this way. If JAL's top management is too capable, it will be inconvenient for our future expansion."
For ANA and JAL, the saying "relying on the support of their peers" is too succinct.
Yue Sheng became interested: "Then you can help them solve the problem of the Japan-US route. That route is very important to ANA. Now ANA is weak in international routes. If they make up for this shortcoming, I'm afraid they will be uncontrollable in the future."
Xu Cang smiled and said, "Who said I was helping them?"
"Then how could the Japan-US route be fake? All Nippon Airways has already started promoting it, so it will be launched soon, right?"
"Really?" Xu Cang said calmly, "In the current global aircraft market, whether it is direct sale or leasing, mainline aircraft with less than 200 seats are in great demand, right? Many times, you have to queue up to pay extra."
Yue Sheng frowned. He didn't understand why Xu Cang suddenly changed the topic to the aircraft market, but he still followed Xu Cang's words and said, "Our civil aviation market has been liberalized, and the demand for trunk passenger aircraft has skyrocketed. The European market is also very hot. With these two growth points, the aircraft market is naturally in short supply. You also have an airline company, so you should be very clear about this kind of thing."
"So, if you want a large number of planes in a short period of time, you can only get them from other airlines."
Yue Sheng remained silent. He seemed to understand Xu Cang's meaning, but some things were still difficult to understand because there was no inevitability in the development of the events.
Why can’t there be too many steps or too complicated steps when making a plan?
The main reason is that people are uncontrollable and sometimes do things that are illogical. If there are too many steps and too many joints, it is easier to go wrong.
At least, if Yue Sheng's understanding of Xu Cang's purpose is correct, this plan still has many loopholes, and things may not develop in the direction Xu Cang expected.
"You want to get ANA's mainline passenger aircraft with less than 200 seats?" Yue Sheng asked uncertainly.
Xu Cang picked up the teacup and took a sip: "Why, is it not possible?"
"Of course not!" Yue Sheng said directly: "ANA is crazy to resell mainline passenger aircraft with less than 200 seats to others."
Xu Cang sipped his tea and said, "Everything depends on human effort. What's impossible?"
"I roughly understand what you mean. There is a slight possibility that ANA will shift its business focus and resell some aircraft such as 737s or 320s. However, the possibility of this happening is not high. They can take care of both sides. There is no need to make a single choice." Yue Sheng organized his words a little: "Also, even if ANA wants to sell or lease aircraft, it will not choose a single partner."
Xu Cang shook his head: "No, you don't understand yet. ANA will do what I want, as long as they still have a little rational thinking as human beings."
Yue Sheng looked at Xu Cang deeply. He was sure that Xu Cang had unparalleled confidence when he said this, as if ANA was his puppet and he could play with it however he wanted.
"You are such a scary person." Yue Sheng did not ask Xu Cang about his response to ANA's actions. At least Xu Cang still insisted that solving the Japan-US route issue for ANA was just the tip of the iceberg of his plan, and there would definitely be other backup plans to support his arrangements.
I don’t know about other things, but Xu Cang will definitely not let himself suffer any loss.
"So what should we say now? Japan Airlines' Class A shares with voting rights are not open to the public. If you want to buy them, you need the approval of Japan Airlines' board of directors. This is not easy to do." Yue Sheng said: "Even if I have money and am willing to spend money, I can't become a major shareholder of Japan Airlines and join the board of directors."
When JAL President Nagano Hideki first met with Xu Cang to discuss cooperation, Xu Cang mentioned that he would be given the right to purchase 1% of Class A shares. Even with this condition, Nagano Hideki hesitated and ultimately did not agree, which shows how much JAL values core power.
Xu Cang laughed and said, "Who told you to buy JAL's Class A shares directly? They definitely won't sell them."
Yue Sheng was stunned: "Then how can I join the JAL board? You are so confident, there must be a way to get JAL to agree to sell, right?"
"Hehe, no." Xu Cang rolled his eyes: "Don't even think about buying Japan Airlines' Class A shares directly, and in such a large amount."
At this point, Yue Sheng slammed the table and stood up: "Then you kid lied to me."
"How did I lie to you?" Xu Cang was speechless: "I asked you to prepare money, not to buy Japan Airlines shares."
Yue Sheng had a lot of questions in his head: "If I don't buy JAL's stocks, whose stocks should I buy?"
"Japan's Jiasu Airlines' stocks." Xu Cang said: "However, to be precise, it is not buying Jiasu Airlines' stocks, but acquiring shares in Jiasu Airlines in some form."
"Jia...Jiasu Airlines?" Yue Sheng was completely confused: "Jiasu Airlines? Is it the Jiasu Airlines that has all the old antique planes and mainly operates domestic routes in Japan?"
"Yes, you have a good memory."
"Is this a compliment?" Yue Sheng cursed, "Why would you invest in a money-losing company like Jiasu Airlines? Losing money? Xu Cang, do you really think I'm easy to bully?"
In the eyes of many civil aviation practitioners, Jiasu Airlines is full of the sense of fading sun, just like their fleet. Not only are the fleet models extremely diverse, but the models are also extremely non-mainstream, with McDonnell Douglas aircraft being the main ones.
The civil aviation industry now generally recognizes that McDonnell Douglas aircraft are a big pit, and with McDonnell Douglas being acquired by Boeing, the after-sales service of McDonnell Douglas aircraft has become increasingly perfunctory, and the fate of McDonnell Douglas aircraft is already doomed, and it will definitely be swept into the garbage dump of history. And Jiasu Airlines, which mainly operates McDonnell Douglas aircraft, should have a similar ending.
Yue Sheng works for an airline company. If he still can't see this clearly, then he must be blind.
What's the difference between investing money in such a company and giving money away?
"You think Jiasu Airlines is a money-loser, but some people treasure it." Xu Cang said with a smile.
Yue Sheng was stunned: "Who has lost his mind, or who is blind?"
After saying that, Yue Sheng looked at Xu Cang who was still smiling, and suddenly a thought flashed through his mind: "Could it be Japan Airlines?"
"Japan Airlines has been beaten back by ANA in the domestic market, and it has no good way to deal with it, so it instinctively follows the previous approach and acquires it." Xu Cang smiled and said, "ANA will definitely not be acquired, so we will target the third place in domestic routes, that is, Jiasu Airlines."
"Jiasu Airlines has been losing money for years, but it is still the third largest airline in the domestic market, and its value to Japan Airlines is still very large." Xu Cang shrugged: "As far as I know, Japan Airlines has already started discussing the acquisition of Jiasu Airlines."
Yue Sheng was a very smart person. After Xu Cang said this, he immediately understood something: "Are you going to invest indirectly?"
"It is definitely not possible to directly purchase JAL's Class A shares, but after Goodspeed Airlines merges into JAL, as a condition for agreeing to be acquired, Goodspeed Airlines will definitely reserve one or two seats on JAL's board of directors. In any case, Goodspeed Airlines is making a loss, but it is not bankrupt, and the demander is JAL, so Goodspeed Airlines has certain bargaining chips." Xu Cang smiled and said, "If we can't get into JAL, then we can enter through Goodspeed Airlines."
JAL's acquisition of Air Canada is not like Korean Air's acquisition of Asiana Airlines, but more like Boeing's acquisition of McDonnell Douglas.
After Boeing acquired McDonnell Douglas, some of McDonnell Douglas' senior executives were directly transferred to Boeing's leadership.
Goodspeed Airlines is different from Asiana Airlines. Its situation is not as difficult as that of Asiana Airlines. In addition, JAL needs to join forces with Goodspeed Airlines on domestic routes to balance ANA, so it is almost certain that some of Goodspeed Airlines' senior executives will join ANA.
Xu Cang's indirect way of acquiring shares was really ingenious.
Yue Sheng took a long time to react, and finally could only smile bitterly: "Your move dazzled me a little. However, if you want to join the JAL board of directors as a representative of Jiasu Airlines, you must at least become the top two shareholders. You just said that Jiasu Airlines' situation is not that bad, so why are they willing give up their position as the company's top two shareholders?"
"I have met Ji Chuan Yixin, the president of Jiasu Airlines, before..."
"when?"
"After the emergency landing in Tokyo Bay..." Xu Cang asked, "Why are you asking this?"
"Emergency landing in Tokyo Bay?" Yue Sheng was a little surprised: "So early, have you been planning this a long time ago?"
Xu Cang stood up. Sitting for a long time made his waist feel uncomfortable. "Opportunities need to be seized in advance. It's not that opportunities will come just when you think about it. Fortunately, the leadership of Jiasu Airlines is still somewhat enterprising. They also know that after being merged into Japan Airlines, Jiasu Airlines will only become a tool of Japan Airlines, rather than being able to use the power of Japan Airlines to revitalize Jiasu Airlines."
"Jiasu Airlines was developed from East Asia's domestic air transport company, and it has a long history. It's normal for the leadership to have some ambitions." Yue Sheng knew a little about Jiasu Airlines: "But what does this have to do with what we are going to do?"
"What is the biggest problem of Jiasu Airlines?" Xu Cang asked.
“The planes are old and the models are mixed!”
"Ji Chuan Yixin can't solve this problem, so he would rather merge with Japan Airlines and hope to revive Jiasu Airlines. Even though they know that the possibility of success is still small, they have no choice." Xu Cang said seriously: "The management is still enterprising, which means they still have rational thinking. If it is already rotten, then they will only look at the interests. In this case, it is difficult to communicate with them. From my previous communication with Ji Chuan Yixin, he is a person who can communicate. For them, it doesn't make much difference who the new owner is. The key is who can save Jiasu Airlines."
Yue Sheng took a breath and said, "You want to save Jiasu Airlines?"
"No way?" Xu Cang said with a smile: "This is an offer that cannot be refused, isn't it?"
"But, you know..." Yue Sheng was about to say something, but suddenly remembered something: "You are not going to use our Guoda Airlines' money to save Jiasu Airlines, are you?"
…
Amid Yue Sheng's roar, Xu Cang left Yue Sheng's office.
Yue Sheng was obviously not ready to accept Xu Cang's powerful proposal. However, Xu Cang believed that this was only temporary, and Yue Sheng would eventually understand his ingenious plan, and the result would not change.
However, there was one thing that Yue Sheng had a good idea about, which was that there were many forks in this plan, and what Xu Cang had to do was to eliminate these forks and leave only the only main road, so that things would develop in line with his expectations.
In order to achieve this goal, it's time for Xu Cang to take some additional actions.
After walking away from Yue Sheng's office, Yue Sheng's roar could no longer be heard. Xu Cang walked to a corner and called Huang Jing.
It was already evening in the United States, but Huang Jing still answered the call quickly.
"Mr. Xu, it's really strange that you call me."
"Thank you for your help with Qin Xin's matter."
Huang Jing smiled and said, "It's nothing. To be more precise, we should thank you more. Mr. Xu, the plan you mentioned to investigate Bombardier for dumping has worked very well, and Mr. Lance Tamir is very satisfied. In addition, we heard some interesting things about Airbus's A380. Whether it was a coincidence or Mr. Xu's amazing layout, you made us look at you with new eyes. In comparison, just verbal support is naturally nothing."
At this time, Xu Cang suddenly asked: "If, I mean if Korean Air still insists on acquiring Asiana Airlines. Will you really sell the five 747s at the catalog price as you said?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Huang Jing fell into silence.
After a long time, Huang Jing said with some embarrassment: "Mr. Xu, I am just a regional director. This kind of question is a bit too difficult for me."
"Hahaha, I'm just kidding, Mr. Huang, don't worry about it." Xu Cang said with a smile, "There is something I want to consult with Mr. Huang. I wonder what the current order status of Boeing 777 is like?"
This kind of thing is actually a trade secret, but this is an exaggeration. Huang Jing obviously does not have the intention of taking it too far.
"Mr. Xu is interested in the Boeing 777?" Huang Jing sighed. "The British Airways Boeing 777 had a problem before. The wing was broken, which definitely had some impact on the sales of the 777. Of course, if it weren't for Mr. Xu's efforts to save the situation, the current situation would only be worse. To be honest, we owe Mr. Xu a favor."
"Do you owe me a favor?" Xu Cang asked, "What about now?"
Xu Cang's words made Huang Jing a little confused about how to respond. What he said was obviously a polite remark. However, Huang Jing was not an ordinary person. He actually followed Xu Cang's words and asked with a smile: "I wonder what Mr. Xu wants?"
Huang Jing neither agreed nor refused, but changed the subject and asked Xu Cang. If Xu Cang's request was not excessive, he could do him a favor. If it was too exaggerated, he could only shamelessly refuse.
Xu Cang could naturally see through Huang Jing's little rhetoric, but he didn't really care: "Mr. Huang, has any airline canceled its 777 bookings recently?"
"There are two this year, and one at the beginning of tomorrow." Huang Jing told the truth: "Why, Mr. Xu is still concerned about this?"
"Of course I care." Xu Cang smiled and said, "If you want to repay me, transfer the order for the three Boeing 777s to me!"
