Chapter 363: Dimensionality reduction attack on Airbus!
"Xu Cang?" Ronnie Covey's mind was stuck for a moment: "Why are you doing this?"
Nicholas Halliway spread his hands and said, "This is not my intention, but the boss's. I am only responsible for executing this instruction. So, is this condition unacceptable?"
Neo Otto pondered for a moment: "If Mr. Hariwe simply wants to hire us to design and manufacture, I can give my promise here. However, if it is sold under our company's brand, then I have to consider what this aircraft means to us. After all, a failed model is harmful to our Airbus brand, especially if it comes from a non-professional design team."
"Are you afraid that we will ruin your reputation?" Nicholas Halliway turned the ring on his right index finger. "It's okay. I can give you some time to think about it. However, there is one thing I need to remind you of. If there is only one hole in the dam, it may be possible to repair it, although it is difficult. But once the hole gets bigger, there is a risk of bursting the dam, and by then, it will be too late to remedy the situation. Your stocks are in danger now, but there is only a big hole. But if you hesitate and wait for the hole to develop, it may cause panic selling. At that time, the cost of repairing the hole will not be more than 10 billion."
Neo Otto understood what Nicholas Halliway meant and nodded in response, "Mr. Halliway, we will ask for instructions as soon as possible. The establishment of the new aircraft project and even the naming of the aircraft model require the approval of EADS and BAE Systems. The procedures must be followed."
Ronnie Covey was shocked: "Do you really want to ask your superiors for instructions?"
Nicholas Halliway smiled and said, "Mr. Covein, if I were you, I should be more concerned about my own situation, right?"
Neo Otto patted Ronnie Covein on the shoulder and said, "It's okay. Leave this matter to the higher-ups to decide. If the stock price can eventually stabilize, it means that the impact of this incident will be reduced, which is also good for you."
Hearing this, Ronnie Covey remained silent and stopped talking.
"Mr. Hariway, thank you for your help. We will seriously consider your proposal and inform you of the result as soon as possible." Neo Otto was very polite: "If it is convenient, can you leave a contact number?"
The Shengming Fund is very mysterious. To be honest, when Neo Otto wanted to contact them, he didn't know who to contact.
"No, I'll come back to see you when the time is right." Nicholas Halliway looked at his watch and said, "I'll be in France recently."
Neo Otto said quickly: "No, no, no, Mr. Hariway, when we say as soon as possible, it is not a fixed time limit. You don't have to wait here in France."
In Neo Otto's understanding, Nicholas Halliway stayed in France for some time just to wait for Airbus's reply.
However, in Neo Otto's opinion, the word "as soon as possible" has more of a polite or even perfunctory meaning, and letting Nicholas Halliway wait in vain in France would make him feel disgusted.
However, Nicholas Halliway was very casual. He stood up slowly, as if to end the conversation: "Mr. Otto, I won't wait long."
Neo Otto was puzzled. "Mr. Hariway, I don't know much about British Aerospace, but I am relatively familiar with EADS. Even if we submit the application, you shouldn't expect too much from their efficiency."
EADS is a behemoth. Its huge size makes it extremely powerful, but its bloated organization also makes its efficiency always at a less than satisfactory level.
Especially since Neo Otto's father is one of the founders of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company.
"Don't worry, I know EADS better than you do." Nicholas Halliway clapped his hands. "Well, today's conversation makes me very happy. I hope you two feel the same way. I will come to see you again in three days. By then, you should have a definite idea."
"Three days?" Neo Otto hurriedly chased after him: "Mr. Harvey, three days is too fast."
"No hurry, no hurry." Nicholas Halliway smiled and said, "There is no such thing as a lazy person. As long as there is a whip behind them, no matter who they are, they will become diligent."
Neo Otto frowned: "I don't quite understand what you mean."
"It's okay, you will understand soon." Nicholas Harry said with some regret: "When you first proposed the aviation hub plan, you probably didn't expect the result to be like this today, right?"
"What?" Neo Otto could tell that Nicholas Halliway was hinting at something.
But just as he was about to catch up, Nicholas Halliway had already disappeared into the corridor.
Back in the office, Neo Otto was still thoughtful. He looked up at Ronnie Covein and asked, "What did he mean by the aviation hub plan?"
"It's just nonsense." Ronnie Coveyne didn't take it seriously. "Now that I think about it, it doesn't matter if we agree to it. He's the one who invested the money. He's an outsider and doesn't know anything about aircraft development. We can just fool him. There's no publicity, no innovation, and it's stable. This won't have any impact on our brand, and the R&D investment is small, maybe less than $10 billion, so we'll still make a profit."
In fact, Neo Otto had thought of such a method. Anyway, it was just passive work, so he just used some mature technology to sew it up, and there would definitely be no technical problems. In this way, the R&D cost was still very low, and the safety was good. Of course, there was no special feature, so the sales situation would definitely be very poor.
However, with a bit of perfunctory publicity, the plane is basically just going to gather dust, and Airbus has eaten up $10 billion in vain.
However, Neo Otto still didn't dare to accept Nicholas Halliway's offer just now. The main reason was that if he could think of such a thing, why couldn't Nicholas Halliway think of it?
As the head of an extremely generous financial fund, doesn't Neo Otto think that Nicholas Halliway would not have thought of these details?
So, why does Nicholas Halliway think that Airbus will work wholeheartedly for him?
"He just said there should be a whip behind, I feel he is not talking about EADS, or not just about European defense, but includes us."
"We?" Ronnie Coveyne didn't care, and there was even a hint of contempt in his expression: "Once we get the money, what else can he use to restrain us? Paying money to do things doesn't stipulate how quickly or to what extent the things have been done."
Neo Otto thought about it and it seemed to make sense. Nicholas Halliway's biggest means of controlling Airbus was the $10 billion used to fill the hole. Once the money was in hand, the means of control would be gone. How to deal with it later was still up to Airbus itself to decide, right?
"But……"
"But what but? Maybe it's that upstart who's so self-righteous." Ronnie Covey was a little excited: "Use his money to fill the hole and eliminate the impact of the A380 delay. Maybe I'll have a chance of survival."
At this moment, Ronnie Covey's eyes were filled with excitement and hope. He didn't expect that when he was at his wit's end, a stupid guy with a lot of money would take the initiative to fill the hole for him. Then the follow-up handling of this matter would be very promising.
However, compared to Ronnie Covein's optimism, Neo Otto looked solemn. He never believed in pie in the sky. However, he still couldn't figure out what Nicholas Halliway's intention was.
"I hope I'm just overthinking it."
…
At this moment, at a booth at the Atlanta Aviation Expo in North America, the Boeing booth has undoubtedly become the protagonist of this expo.
Not long ago, Boeing officially launched the 787 project. This time, taking advantage of the opportunity of the aviation expo, Boeing gave a more detailed display of the new B787 model.
At the last project launch meeting, the 7E7 project was only officially renamed, and the project model was officially set as 787. In addition, there are not many descriptions of the 787 itself, and the most effective information is the public disclosure of its power system options.
This press conference will introduce the various indicators of the 787 in detail, especially the revolutionary progress of the 787 in operating costs.
Below the Boeing booth, representatives from various airlines were listening carefully to the explanation given by Boeing's chief operating officer. From time to time, some airline representatives would ask questions, and Boeing's chief operating officer answered them fluently and calmly.
A little further away in the last row of the audience, Boeing CEO Lance Tamir looked at the COO's performance with satisfaction: "Tom did a good job this time."
Beside him, Huang Jing, president of the Asia Pacific region, said respectfully, "Mr. Tom is the general manager of the 787 project and has devoted a lot of effort to it. Apart from the engineers who designed the 787, Mr. Tom knows the 787 best."
Lance Tamir chuckled. "Yes, that's how Boeing's executives should look. By the way, I heard that Xu Cang placed an order for thirteen 777s?"
"Yes, three of them were recently canceled orders, and they were transferred to him according to his request. The other ten were customized later. He made some more...detailed requirements. He will come to the United States in person later to pay the deposit for these thirteen 777 aircraft."
"Huh?" This surprised Lance Tamir: "Do you really want to buy it?"
Huang Jing also had a confused look on his face: "I also felt it was unlikely at first, but it seems to be true."
"Hey, this guy is quite sensible ." Lance Tamir nodded. "The sales of 777 haven't been very good recently. Thirteen at one time is considered a large order. We can give him a good price."
The previous incident of a British Airways Boeing 777 wing breaking really cast a shadow on the Boeing 777, which had only been in commercial operation for a short time. In addition, the price of the Boeing 777 was really not affordable, so the sales of the 777 have always been lukewarm.
Xu Cang not only received three cancellation orders, but also placed an additional order for ten aircraft, which finally made the 777's performance report look a little better.
Although the deposit can be canceled, it will result in a loss of millions of dollars, which is not a small amount of money. At least it shows that Xu Cang has a strong desire to buy the Boeing 777.
"Mr. Tamir, the British Airways plane had a problem with its engine. The PW4000 engine doesn't seem to be very...reliable. Will there be any problems if we use a derivative version of it on the 787?"
Speaking of this, it was a thorn in Lance Tamir's heart: "This matter is not easy to handle. Someone took the board's approach. The selection of the PW4000-112 engine was a decision made by the board. I can't make things too awkward with the board."
"If you really want to use Pratt & Whitney's engine, the PW6000 will do."
"No, the PW6000 is too small and cannot meet the power requirements of the 787."
Huang Jing was a little speechless for a moment: "But the PW4000-112 engine..."
"Forget it. According to the plan, the 787 will have about three sub-models. We will select PW4000-112 for the initial model and not use it in the future. This can be regarded as giving face to the board of directors."
Huang Jing thought for a moment and said, "But if that's the case, then the only supplier of the 787's power system would be General Electric. This... wouldn't be a good idea."
In many cases, aircraft manufacturers will not bet their aircraft on a single engine. Putting all your eggs in one basket is not a good idea, but it can easily become a problem for you.
Boeing has a lot of cooperation with General Electric, but it is definitely not to the extent that it can rely on each other.
Generally speaking, the first models of an aircraft are a bit of a trial and error process, and the ones that sell well are basically the subsequent models. In this case, a large number of 787s only use GE's GENx engines, which has certain risks.
There is a need for compatibility between new aircraft and power systems. Once a certainty is reached, it will be difficult to change it.
As a result, it will be easy for us to be at a disadvantage in future negotiations with General Electric.
"This is indeed a problem." Lance Tamir pondered for a moment, and it was obvious that he had also thought of this problem: "We have been cooperating with GM for a long time, but it is still necessary to be on the defensive. However, there are not many engines that can be suitable for the 787. The PW6000 is too small and lacks power. The Rolls-Royce Trent 900 has been finalized and it is difficult to change it. In fact, I was a little fond of Pratt & Whitney's PW8000 before, but Pratt & Whitney seems to have no confidence in this engine. Until now, there is not even a prototype..."
"What about Rolls-Royce's latest Trent 1000? Didn't they say that the Trent 1000 has made a major breakthrough? The development cycle of this engine is highly overlapped with that of the 787, and it has not yet been fully finalized, so there is room for modification. Rolls-Royce engineers can modify it to adapt it to the 787."
"Trent 1000?" To be honest, Lance Tamir was a little tempted.
The Trent 1000 is not yet commercially available, which means it has not been finalized. It can be modified to fit the 787, and the fuel economy of the Trent 1000 just fits the concept of the 787, so it is quite suitable. However, things are not that simple.
"You don't understand." Lance Tamir sighed. "Among the three major aircraft engine manufacturers, Rolls-Royce is in the worst situation. GM and Pratt & Whitney would rather take advantage of the situation to block Rolls-Royce's business so that it will decline further. If we give a portion of the profits from the 787 project to Rolls-Royce, GM and Pratt & Whitney will be unhappy. In any case, we are closer to GM and Pratt & Whitney, and this is something we need to consider."
"But……"
"Forget it, I'll think about it later." Lance Tamir looked helpless. Even though he was the CEO of Boeing, he couldn't do whatever he wanted. There were too many conflicts of interest in the 787 project, which made him very troubled.
At this moment, Boeing's Chief Operating Officer Tom at the booth roared with passion: "Here, I solemnly announce to all airline representatives that under the same conditions, the fuel consumption of the 787 will be 20% lower than that of the A330."
As soon as these words were spoken, the airline representatives in the audience were shocked and gasped.
Twenty percent!
According to common perception, it is considered good if fuel consumption can be reduced by 3%, but no one would dare to think that it can be reduced by 20%.
One thing that needs to be mentioned here is that although the Boeing 777 was initially developed to replace the 767 to compete with the A330, Boeing's designers have now made it a little bigger.
To be precise, the Boeing 777 should be compared to the A330PROMAX version, not the normal A330. Strictly speaking, the two are not actually on the same track.
However, judging from the information disclosed so far, the Boeing 787 and A330 are in direct competition, whether in terms of aircraft size or number of seats.
It is incredible that these two products with similar positioning can have a 20% difference in fuel consumption.
As we all know, fuel consumption is an extremely important cost in the operation of an airline. The fuel consumption is 20% lower than that of the A330. This is much more useful than promoting how beautiful your own aircraft is, how good its aerodynamic performance is, and how many new technologies are used.
Lance Tamir clearly saw that the airline representatives' eyes were green with envy.
Just based on the difference in operating costs caused by fuel consumption, the Boeing 787 has almost achieved a dimensionality reduction attack on the Airbus 330.
Lance Tamir was very satisfied with the reactions of the airline representatives. He turned his head and glanced at Huang Jing: "Airbus has only two legs in the wide-body aircraft field, one is the A380 and the other is the A330. The A380 leg became lame as soon as it took its first step, and now the A330 leg is the only one left. If we break the A330 leg, then in the wide-body aircraft field, we, Boeing, will still be the undisputed king."
Huang Jing immediately agreed: "It should be so."
…
In the waiting hall of Hanjing Airport, Xu Cang leaned on the railing not far from the boarding gate, looking at the Spring Airlines plane gradually approaching the jet bridge, feeling a little helpless.
He was going to join the crew back to Erhai Lake later, but when he arrived at the airport he found out that the plane was delayed for an hour, which was really depressing.
A lot of things happened during this short two-day trip to Hanjing. Xu Canglao had a feeling that every time he dealt with one thing, more things would pop up, making him seem to have no free time at all.
By the time I get back, Asiana Airlines Chairman Lee Myung-ki should be here soon. In any case, the long-planned affairs of Asiana Airlines have finally come to an end.
Leaning on the railing, Xu Cang yawned. He still had to take a three-hour flight, so it would be more comfortable for him to stand for now.
Suddenly, his cell phone rang. It was Ma Cheng calling. He answered it and asked, "What's the matter?"
"Xu Cang, where are you now?"
"Han Jing, I'll be back to Erhai Lake soon. What's going on?"
"In three days, we will hold a shareholders' meeting to reorganize the board of directors. The lady wants to give you the voting rights. Logically, you should come over."
When this matter was mentioned, Xu Cang raised his eyebrows: "But, even if I go, they may not agree to let me join the board of directors."
"Then you should at least come over here." Ma Cheng said, "You don't have anything to do recently, so come and join us if you have nothing to do."
"Uh..." Xu Cang didn't really want to participate. The relationship at Muhua Airlines was too complicated. If he went, he would be treated sarcastically: "I want to transfer to a level 5 co-pilot. Does that count?"
Ma Cheng was almost speechless: "Even if the captain is transferred, it's not a reason. Can't it be delayed for a day or two?"
"Why do you want me to go? Don't even think about it. The shareholders' meeting will definitely not elect me. Even if Si Linglong wants to give me the voting rights, it may not happen. There are too many messes in Muhua, and your words can't have the final say. Why should I go?" Xu Cang was halfway through his words when he suddenly had an idea: "You don't want me to support you, do you?"
"Hehe..." Ma Cheng is a very thick-skinned man. When it comes to matters concerning his own interests, he is flexible and resilient. "Although you are not from Muhua Airlines, you still have some say in civil aviation. Come and support your brother. You just said that the situation here is complicated. I am afraid that I can't handle it alone."
Ma Cheng has taken over Muhua Airlines for some time, and it has become an established fact. It is unlikely to remove him from the position of chairman.
However, like Xu Cang, he was probably bound to be ridiculed, and Ma Cheng was really worried that his blood vessels would burst.
Xu Cang now has some status in civil aviation, so it is necessary for him to get some external help to protect himself.
"Are you afraid of being drowned by your saliva?"
Ma Cheng was helpless: "Flies won't kill you, but they are disgusting. Just come here to support the place. Miss is also a widower and needs help."
Speaking of Si Linglong, Xu Cang could no longer refuse.
He had a good personal relationship with Si Linglong, but that was just about good. However, as the only relative left of Mr. Si Weimin, he still had to help out.
"Okay, okay, I'll be your shield." Xu Cang didn't care. He just happened to have something to talk to Ma Cheng about, and he also wanted to find out the specific situation of Muhua Airlines. After all, if he had the chance, he really wanted to join the board of directors of Muhua Airlines: "By the way, has the Jianchuan base been cleaned up?"
"Almost. Some minor problems will be solved soon."
"Yeah." Xu Cang nodded: "When the time comes, I'll go to Yangcheng, that's all."
"Wait a minute, wait a minute." Ma Cheng quickly interrupted Xu Cang: "I have something to tell you."
Xu Cang was a little surprised: "What else?"
"Park Deok-gyu, do you still remember Lu Yongjian, the Korean?"
"Ah, what's wrong?"
There was a different meaning in Ma Cheng's voice: "I don't know why, but that guy seems... crazy!"
