Chapter 375: Real plane collision!
In the central square of the Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, Neo Otto and Ronnie Covein were strolling on the walkway at the edge of the square with cups of coffee in their hands.
Not long ago, the punishment result for Ronnie Covein was announced. As expected, Ronnie Covein was demoted from the top level to the middle level, or even to the lower middle level.
However, although Ronnie Covey is no longer in office, some of his connections remain. At least he can still talk to Neo Otto.
"I heard that more than 70% of the airlines that ordered the first batch of A380s filed a lawsuit?"
Neo Otto was also annoyed by this matter. When he heard Ronnie Covein mention this matter, he was full of worries: "Saudi Airlines, Qatar Airlines, Air Canada, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Delta Airlines, British Airways, and Japan Airlines are all involved in the lawsuit. The scale is huge."
"British Airways!" Ronnie Covey was stunned. "The British Airways executives are crazy, aren't we in the same group?"
The clue can actually be seen from the distribution of airlines participating in the lawsuit. There are no European airlines among them, except British Airways.
Because Airbus has deep interests entangled in Europe, European airlines cannot stab Airbus in the back at some critical moments.
Of course, there are also traitors among them, such as British Airways.
"Britain? When did they join us?" Neo Otto snorted.
Airbus is headquartered in Toulouse, France, and all Airbus branches are French. Therefore, Airbus has a strong French imprint.
When it comes to French affairs, the British often have a genetic urge to take advantage of France from time to time.
It mainly stems from the long-standing feud between Britain and France since the Middle Ages. It is something engraved in their genes.
"It's really hard to refute what you said." Ronnie Covey said helplessly: "In Europe, British Airways is just an outlier. Air Canada is resentful because of our attack on Bombardier. It's normal for the American airlines as well, after all, it's Boeing's territory. However, Japan Airlines is a bit strange. We had a good relationship with Japan Airlines before, and there was no obvious conflict of interest between us. They didn't have any position to express. Of course, the most incomprehensible ones are Saudi Arabian Airlines and Qatar Airways. Why did they stand up?"
Saudi Arabian Airlines and Qatar Airways are well-known tycoon airlines. In the first batch of A380 order lists, Saudi Arabian Airlines and Qatar Airways purchased the largest number of aircraft. Moreover, these two airlines spent a lot of money and directly moved the presidential suite into the aircraft.
As long as you have enough money, you can even take a bath on the plane. It's outrageous.
Logically, the reaction of these two companies should not be so strong. Because at the beginning of the A380 problem, Airbus contacted these two major customers privately and pointed out the possibility of delayed delivery of the A380.
At that time, the reaction of these two companies was not violent, and they even expressed understanding for the delayed delivery of the Airbus A380. It was precisely because of the understanding of these two largest customers that Airbus had the confidence to make the A380 problem public.
However, not long after that, Saudi Arabian Airlines and Qatar Airways suddenly changed their attitude 180 degrees, catching Airbus off guard.
"I don't know. This change in attitude is too strange." Neo Otto frowned. "Now all the lawsuits are filed by large companies, so it's difficult for us to put pressure on them. The total amount of compensation filed now is billions of dollars, which is a lot of pressure on us."
If it were a small company, wouldn’t Airbus take advantage of its power to bully others?
However, all the companies that filed the lawsuit are large airlines, so even Airbus needs to be cautious. If they are pushed too hard, they may be more inclined to Boeing, which is obviously not in the interests of Airbus.
But given the current situation, if a lawsuit is filed, Airbus will most likely lose. There is no way around it, it is as simple as that, it is Airbus's fault. A large number of airlines have invested huge amounts of money in the preheating of the A380, such as Blue Sky Airlines, which is a gambler who put his pants on the A380.
As a result, Airbus failed to meet the expectations of a number of airlines, so it is normal for Airbus to bear the liability for compensation.
However, Airbus had already suffered a large amount of overspending on the A380 project, had an abnormal capital chain, and missed the opportunity to recover due to low-level mistakes.
With the news of the class action lawsuit, Airbus' already precarious stock price plummeted further, making its already poor life even worse.
Ronnie Coveyne couldn't help but frown. He didn't want Airbus to go bankrupt, and he was looking forward to making a comeback in the future.
"Should I go to those companies?" Ronnie Covein suggested. "Under the current circumstances, even if we rush the production regardless of cost, the first A380 will not be ready until half a year later. I'm worried that if things continue like this, we won't even be able to make it for half a year."
Neo Otto glanced at Ronnie Covein. He knew Ronnie Covein's little thoughts, and that being eager to show off when the company was in trouble would actually have no effect.
Moreover, Ronnie Covein has now resigned as COO. His rank is too low, and the heads of those major airlines may not like him.
Ronnie Covein must have understood this, but it was precisely because of this that he had to make the trip.
Neo Otto did not expose Ronnie Covein's little tricks. The main reason was that after Ronnie Covein left office, his information channels became much more closed. The problems Airbus faced were not only about the A380, but also the A330.
"Not long ago, at the official launch of the 787 at the North American Expo, a piece of news broke out." Neo Otto's face was extremely solemn: "According to Boeing, the fuel efficiency of the 787 will be 20% higher than that of the A330 in the future..."
Ronnie Coveyne stopped dead in his tracks: "How much?"
Neo Otto sighed, "Twenty percent."
"Twenty percent?" Ronnie Coveyne shouted directly: "Those people at Boeing are talking nonsense. How can they improve efficiency by so much? It's impossible. Absolutely impossible."
"Are you saying that Boeing is playing everyone for fools? Fuel efficiency is easy to measure, and airlines are extremely sensitive to it. Are you saying that Boeing is deliberately playing its customers for fools?"
"But, a 20% improvement in fuel efficiency, isn't that too exaggerated?" Ronnie Covein still didn't believe it. "The A330 is not a new aircraft, but its aerodynamic layout is definitely not old, and the Trent 700 engine it uses is also acceptable. Its fuel efficiency is definitely above average among wide-body aircraft. For aircraft of the same category, there must be differences in fuel efficiency. However, today's passenger aircraft technology has become increasingly mature, and the gap in technology is not too big. How is it possible to achieve a 20% improvement in fuel efficiency?"
Ronnie Covey is not the kind of leader who sits in an office all day. He has basic common sense.
Ronnie Covey's judgment is based on reason and logic. However, Boeing's decision not to fool anyone in this matter is also based on reason and logic.
From a personal perspective and intuition, Neo Otto is more inclined to agree with Boeing's statement. After all, this kind of thing is really hard to fake. Even from common sense, this data increase is indeed too exaggerated.
"Dreamliner, a dream plane, it really is a dream plane." Neo Otto sighed, "Since the launch conference, three airlines have canceled their A330 orders. This is a very bad sign."
"They want to wait for 787? Impossible. This project has just been launched and it will take at least seven years before it is delivered."
"For some airlines that do not have strong demand for wide-body aircraft, it does not matter if they wait. For those that do have demand, after cancelling their A330 orders, they will switch to ordering a small number of Boeing 777s as a transition to the Boeing 787."
Although the initial investment of Boeing 777 is huge, the modification limit is much higher than that of A330. If a small number is purchased to meet the growing demand for wide-body aircraft and lay the foundation for Boeing 787, this investment will definitely not be a loss.
“Boeing 777, damn it.”
This is the benefit of a series, customers' high expectations for future products will be reflected in the previous generation of products. As a replacement for the Boeing 787, the sales of the Boeing 777 will see a significant increase in the future, while the A330, a direct competitor, is not doing so well.
"If the A330 has a bad prospect and the A380 has failed, then won't we be back to where we were in the past in the wide-body aircraft sector?"
Airbus launched the A330 with the advantage of being a latecomer, and beat the Boeing 767 to the ground. Airbus was forced to launch the Boeing 777 to respond, but it seemed to be a bit too strong. The Boeing 777 was not really a match for the A330 in terms of performance, as it was a bit larger and its cost control was not perfect.
Fortunately, Boeing had sufficient technical reserves. Shortly after the Boeing 777 was put into commercial service, the Boeing 787 was launched. Moreover, this time it was specifically targeted at the A330. Its exaggerated performance directly crushed the A330.
In comparison, the A380, Airbus's masterpiece after the A330, suffered a Waterloo. Before it was even launched on the COMAC market, Airbus suffered a major setback.
Now much of the reputation accumulated in the past has turned into infamy, and the future is worrying.
Moreover, there is one most important thing: the Boeing 787 has twin engines, while the last hope A380 has four engines.
Even in the description of Airbus' aviation hub plan, they repeatedly believe that the era of four-engine giant aircraft has not ended, on the contrary, now is the peak era of four-engine giant passenger aircraft. And the transportation tool between the first-level hubs is none other than the A380.
However, Boeing is apparently not very interested in this plan, and even said that Boeing has not upgraded the 747 series much, which shows that Boeing believes that the four-engine aircraft has no future.
Despite Airbus's promises, business is full of coincidences. What if Boeing is right? What if the four-engine jumbo jet has no future? In that case, is the A380 a complete failure under the aviation hub plan?
If the direction is wrong, then everything that follows will be wrong.
If this terrible possibility comes true, wouldn't Airbus be completely helpless in dealing with it on twin-engine wide-body aircraft?
Neo Otto and Ronnie Covein are both business tycoons in the aviation industry. Once a problem is raised, the subsequent problems can be thought of.
Under certain extreme conditions, Airbus may really be defeated by Boeing 787.
Ronnie Coveyne looked at Neo Otto and said, "In order to prevent the most terrible outcome, I feel we need to research a new model of twin-engine wide-body aircraft to replace the A330."
"Ronnie, it looks like your brain isn't completely broken yet."
At this time, a middle-aged man in his forties came from not far away. In the Airbus headquarters park, he was not wearing formal clothes like other employees, but a casual sweater. He did not look like a formal employee of Airbus, and his appearance was very casual.
Airbus has certain requirements for employees' dress code, and wearing casual sweaters is at least not allowed, but no one reminded him of the dress code.
There is no way around it, this person is Airbus’ highest-ranking CEO Heimrhein von List.
"Von" is a preposition, which means "where". This preposition is often used in names as a symbol of nobility, especially in Germany.
And Heimrhein von List was from Germany.
Of course, just because someone’s name contains “Feng” doesn’t mean they are aristocratic. No one knows whether the Airbus CEO has German aristocratic blood.
Heimlich List was a casual person. He seldom wore formal clothes or stayed in the office. He wandered around all day.
However, it would be a big mistake to think that he is very easy to get along with because of his casual personality and uninhibited style of doing things.
When Heimrhein List was the president of the German Airbus division, he was known as the "butcher". Once it came to work, he would become extremely harsh and would not show any mercy to his subordinates unless they performed their tasks perfectly.
In fact, even if Ronnie Kwin had no background, fortunately he had made great contributions to Airbus. On the issue of A380, some decision-makers were inclined to give Ronnie Kwin another chance, but in the end it was Heimlein List who insisted on punishing Ronnie Kwin.
Facing this smiling devil, no matter how angry Ronnie Covey was, he had to hold it in and even greet him with a smile.
In comparison, Neo Otto's reaction was much more bland. This is the difference between having a background and not having one.
"Neo, this is the first time I know that you have a good personal relationship with Ronnie." Heimrhein List said with a smile.
Neo Otto nodded slightly as a greeting: "I am also responsible for the A380 issue, so I naturally want to solve it with Ronnie."
"No, the A380 matter has nothing to do with you." Heimrein List smiled and said, "Ronnie is right about the A330 replacement. If we make a mistake in the aviation hub plan, it will be a disastrous consequence, so we need to start the research and development of a twin-engine wide-body aircraft as soon as possible."
"But our funds are already very tight. Too much money has been invested in the A380 project, and we have to consider the compensation issue if we lose the lawsuit."
In fact, Airbus can refuse to execute the judgment at a critical moment, but it will have a great impact on the company's image. If it really loses the case, Neo Otto feels that it needs to pay compensation, even if the amount is huge.
In such a predicament, Airbus really has no funds to start research on a new aircraft model.
Even with the most conservative estimate, 10 billion US dollars in funding is needed. This is too exaggerated and cannot be achieved by just talking.
"Hasn't Nicholas Halliway approached you? He's willing to provide you with $12 billion in funding." Heimrein List smiled faintly, "Wouldn't it be perfect to use his money to complete the research on our new twin-engine wide-body aircraft?"
"But he will get 70% of the total profit of the new model." Neo Otto said.
"It's not our choice now. Whether we can make money on the new model is not that important. The key is to hold up the Boeing 787."
Heimrein List's idea is very simple. Airbus can not make money, but it must also lead Boeing to not make money, which is acceptable.
Neo Otto could understand what Heimlein List meant, but there was a more important question: "Mr. List, is the identity of Nicholas Halliway trustworthy? I have never even heard of the Shengming Fund."
"Shengming Fund... I haven't heard of it either, but Nicholas Halliway is a trustworthy person."
"Why?" Neo Otto frowned: "Do you know him?"
"You are too young. It is normal that some people from the old times do not know you." Heimrein List said with a smile: "Nicholas Halliway was the president of JPMorgan Chase. Do you think his status is enough?"
…
On the hillside next to the Spring and Summer Air Base, Xu Cang was used to sitting here when he was in a good mood. There was a big rock on the hillside, and Xu Cang liked to sit on it.
This hillside faces Erhai Lake and Cangshan Mountain, and there is always strong breeze blowing, which is very comfortable.
Xu Cang had some ideas about Qin Yi's ending, and these ideas were not very good.
There are some things that Xu Cang doesn't know how to stop. If Qin Yi goes to Africa for his fiancée and they both die in the end, then such an outcome should be unchangeable.
Just as Qin Xin said, Qin Yi is cold on the outside but warm on the inside. Once he sets his mind on someone, he will give his all without hesitation. It is really impossible to ask him to ignore his fiancée.
"Damn it, there is no one who can make me feel at ease."
Xu Cang sighed. He could be cruel to Qin Yi, but when it came to Qin Xin, Xu Cang felt extremely upset.
In his guess, the time when Qin Yi got into trouble in the previous life should have been delayed a lot. Moreover, many arrangements were made, so that Qin Xin did not realize for a long time that her brother was dead.
In other words, in this life, he could use some tricks to hide everything from Qin Xin and let Qin Yi do his own things quietly.
But there is no wall that is impenetrable. If Qin Xin finds out about this in the future, she might resent me.
Every family has its own problems, and Xu Cang finally understood the meaning of this statement.
Suddenly, Xu Cang felt something and looked back, only to see Lu Jinghua running towards him not far away, looking very anxious.
When he got closer, Xu Cang looked at Lu Jinghua's panting and couldn't help wondering: "What happened?"
Lu Jinghua looked very unhappy: "Xu Cang, just now, a 737 of our company collided with a 320 of Rongcheng Airlines on the apron."
