Chapter 421 Business jets and rail transit!
Victorville Aircraft Boneyard apron.
Qin Xin, who had just signed a contract with Lance Tamir in New York, arrived in Victorville on a general aviation twin-engine propeller plane, accompanied by seven maintenance personnel.
After getting off the plane, Qin Xin put on a pair of sunglasses and wrapped herself tightly, with no skin exposed at all.
Although Qin Xin is very career-oriented and doesn't care much about dressing up or maintenance, the wind in Victorville feels like a knife cutting through it, with a little bit of sand in the wind that hurts when it hits the skin.
In addition, the sun here is very strong. Qin Xin is a woman after all, so she still needs to take necessary sun protection measures.
In comparison, the accompanying crew members only wore hoods and ice sleeves, but did not take any other sun protection measures.
These are all experienced maintenance personnel. They deliver planes in temperatures of minus ten degrees Celsius, inspect planes in temperatures over forty degrees Celsius, and fly flights at three or four in the middle of the night. What scenes have they not seen?
It was Qin Xin who carefully prepared the ice sleeves for them, otherwise these people would have just put on a hat and gotten away with it.
Victorville is actually a semi-desert based on its geographical features. Based on precipitation, it is extremely dry. Sometimes, there is not a drop of rain in a whole year.
However, precisely because of the dry climate all year round, aircraft age much more slowly, making it a good place to preserve aircraft.
After getting off the plane, I looked around and saw densely packed planes of various types lying quietly, including quite a few military aircraft.
In addition to fixed-wing aircraft, there are also a small number of helicopters and rotorcraft. In the most corner area, there are also many small aircraft, most of which are twin-engine business jets.
Not all of these aircraft are scrapped, a considerable number of them are here waiting for their buyers.
Some airlines want to retire certain aircraft, but as long as the aircraft has not exceeded its maximum service age, it still has value and it is impossible to sell it directly as scrap metal, as that would be a waste.
Generally speaking, older aircraft are sold to cargo airlines and later converted into cargo planes.
If the aircraft is not too old, it can be sold to other passenger airlines and continue to be used as a passenger aircraft.
However, there is often a lack of seamless transition between retiring an aircraft and finding a new buyer. In the meantime, the aircraft is put into storage.
If you park your plane at a domestic airport for a long time, the parking fees will accumulate over time. Most importantly, most domestic airports have four distinct seasons, and planes cannot withstand the wind and rain.
As a result, some airlines will temporarily fly their aircraft to Victorville for storage, where parking fees are low, the climate is stable, and aircraft aging is slower.
Once a new buyer is found, the plane will be flown away from Victorville. That’s basically the process.
Qin Xin was born in a coastal village and was not used to the extremely dry desert climate. As soon as she got off the plane, she felt her throat burning, which was very uncomfortable.
However, she was not a pretentious person, and although she felt uncomfortable, she did not say anything.
Victorville had received the news earlier and specially arranged for a Chinese person to come and receive the guests.
This person was tall and thin, with prominent cheekbones, and his face was the same waxy yellow as the surrounding environment. In Qin Xin's opinion, this should be considered an unhealthy complexion, but this receptionist was very energetic and never stopped talking as soon as he greeted Qin Xin.
This Chinese person's accent is quite distinctive, it should be the dialect from southern Fujian.
Although Minnan is not too far from Qin Xin's hometown, the dialects are quite different. The receptionist mumbled a lot, but Qin Xin could only understand two or three out of ten sentences.
It happened that the receptionist could only speak Minnan dialect and not Mandarin, which made Qin Xin so angry that her blood pressure rose.
It would be better to find someone with more normal spoken English. Qin Xin's English is okay, so communication shouldn't be as difficult as it is now.
Fortunately, there was a guy from southern Fujian among the fellow maintenance workers. After discussing with the receptionist for a long time, he finally found Qin Xin.
The maintenance officer pointed to a tarmac in the distance and said, "The planes of Qatar Airways are all over there. Their stand numbers are A139, A143 , A166..."
This maintenance man has a good memory. Not only does he remember the aircraft position number clearly, he can also point out the specific positions one by one.
This maintenance guy is the oldest among them, almost fifty years old, and looks older, mainly because the job of a maintenance guy is really hard and he ages faster.
"Boss Qin, I'll take people to check one by one. There are many projects and the workload is heavy. We have to hurry up, otherwise it will be difficult to finish today." The old maintenance man spoke in a steady voice. Perhaps because the sun was too glaring, he squinted his eyes when he spoke: "Boss Qin, it's very sunny here. After work starts, find a place to rest, and I'll watch."
Qin Xin nodded: "Well, thank you for your help. Calculate the time and tell me two hours in advance. We need to apply for the time to go back."
If there is nothing wrong with the plane, then we have to fly back.
There was no fixed route for the return flight, so a temporary application was required. However, Xu Cang had already reported it before, and the scheduled departure time was a little later that night, with two hours of room for change.
The sooner we finish, the earlier we can leave. In addition, the approval of the final temporary route also takes time. Qin Xin has reserved more time for approval, so two hours should be enough.
"That's no problem. I've made a note of it." The old mechanic nodded. "The receptionist just told me that Victorville has a special pilot to deliver the plane. The price is fixed. Mr. Qin, you can go and find out later."
"Is there such a service?" Qin Xin originally planned to hire two crews from Southwest Airlines to fly the plane back, and then add crew members to it. The price was much cheaper than transferring pilots from China.
In fact, Southwest Airlines does not do this. It was Boeing that acted as the middleman. It happened that several teams from Southwest Airlines were going to the Guam base, so it was convenient for them.
Unlike wide-body aircraft, the 737 can fly from the United States to China in one go. It needs to stop for refueling, and most of them choose Guam or Hawaii. Originally, Qin Xin wanted to stop in Hawaii, but Southwest Airlines wanted to stop in Guam, so naturally he followed Southwest Airlines.
"Yes, Mr. Qin, you can go and ask about it later. It seems that the price of the airport drop-off service here is quite reasonable."
Qin Xin nodded. It would take a long time to wait anyway, so it might as well go and take a look.
"Boss Qin, let's get busy." The old mechanic didn't hesitate and shouted to the other mechanics, "Let's go and get to work."
Qin Xin did not go to rest directly, but followed the old maintenance man to take a look.
To determine whether an aircraft is still airworthy, you can't just swipe your fingers and look around. Each maintenance worker will have an extremely tedious inspection worksheet, which needs to be checked item by item, and a check mark is placed in front of each item that has passed.
Qin Xin saw that the inspection work sheet was four or five pages long, and it was filled with items. No wonder the old maintenance man said it would be difficult to finish it today.
However, even if I miss the flight today, it doesn't matter if I delay my return trip. Since the September 11th attacks, the number of international flights in the United States has dropped drastically, so it is not difficult to apply for temporary flights.
After looking at it for a while, Qin Xin was sure that she couldn't understand it at all. She didn't feel comfortable staying with the maintenance staff, so she simply went to Victorville's lounge.
Victorville's rest area is not big, just a two-story building. However, it is decorated exquisitely.
In such a desert area, the rest building is surrounded by green plants. There is a row of huge unknown trees surrounding it. The dense branches and leaves block the impact of wind and sand. When you are in it, you don’t feel the discomfort of being cut by the wind and sand outside.
In addition to the trees that block the wind and sand, there is a small square in front of the building. In the middle of the square there is even a small open-air swimming pool. The water is rippling and it is hard to imagine that this place is in a semi-desert area.
Outside the square is green lawn, with eight large parasols distributed among them. There is a lounge chair under each umbrella. Taking a short nap on the lounge chair is quite a unique experience. There is also waiter service in the small building, which can provide drinks such as wine. The service is quite thoughtful.
Qin Xin had booked a room before coming here, but she didn't want to go to the room for the time being. She planned to have a drink and take a walk outside.
Perhaps because of the recent downturn in the civil aviation market, there were no other people in Victorville. When Qin Xin came here, she only saw a white man in the lawn area, smoking a cigarette with a sad face, and no one knew what he was doing.
Qin Xingang had just stepped onto the small square when she heard a burst of hurried footsteps next to her, followed by a deep male voice behind her: "Miss Qin!"
Qin Xin turned around and saw the white man who was smoking on the lawn just now. He was standing two steps away from Qin Xin, always keeping a distance.
This is a more polite gesture.
Everyone has their own social distance, about two steps.
If you are not very familiar with someone, you will feel uncomfortable if someone gets too close to you. For people who are proficient in etiquette, it is best not to get too close when meeting for the first time, especially since Qin Xin is a woman, otherwise it is easy to be rude.
If Xu Cang were here, he would definitely know that this person was Ryan Valette, the president of Bombardier C Series.
His Chinese accent is very authentic, at least much better than that of the Chinese receptionist.
Qin Xin had never seen Ryan Valette before, and frowned slightly: "Who are you?"
"Ryan Valette, President of Bombardier C Series Aircraft Company." Ryan Valette introduced himself: "Ms. Qin, nice to meet you."
As he spoke, Ryan Varet extended his right hand.
However, Qin Xin did not shake hands with him. She was not used to having physical contact with the opposite sex, especially with a man she met for the first time.
"Head of Bombardier's aircraft department?" Qin Xin raised her eyebrows. Obviously, she didn't expect to see Ryan Valette here. "Are you waiting for me here specifically? Are you investigating my itinerary?"
Although her itinerary was not kept secret, Qin Xin was very unhappy with Ryan Valette's behavior.
Ryan Valette apologized: "Ms. Qin, I have something important to discuss with Mr. Xu Cang..."
"Then go find him!" Qin Xin snorted, very dissatisfied.
"Miss Qin, please forgive me." Ryan Valette was a little embarrassed: "Mr. Xu Cang is... difficult to communicate with. If possible, I hope Miss Qin can convey my thoughts on his behalf."
Qin Xin glanced at Ryan Valette and said with a hint of joking: "Are you afraid of him?"
"Mr. Xu Cang is a rare talent. I feel intimidated by him. I really can't continue the conversation."
"Your Chinese is very good." Qin Xin pursed her lips and said, "Tell me, what do you want me to tell you?"
Ryan Valette secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and then calmed down: "Ms. Qin, not long ago, the people we sent to Kawasaki Heavy Industries reported back that Kawasaki Heavy Industries refused to become our parts supplier."
Qin Xin was slightly surprised, but soon understood: "You should know Xu Cang's attitude."
"Yes." Ryan Valette nodded respectfully: "I will not test Mr. Xu Cang's bottom line again, and I am willing to accept Mr. Xu Cang's conditions. However, I hope Mr. Xu Cang will stop inciting our union."
"Trade union?" Qin Xin was stunned, but when she thought of Richard Bayer, with whom Xu Cang had a good personal relationship, she understood clearly.
A long time ago, Xu Cang mentioned that he would use Bombardier's union to deliver the final blow.
After resolving the issue with Kawasaki Heavy Industries, it will be impossible for Bombardier to find a suitable parts supplier in a short period of time. After all, the fuselage components of large passenger aircraft cannot be manufactured casually.
In fact, at this moment, Bombardier had already lost, Xu Cang had blocked all their ways to survive. The union's forcing him to resign would become a knot that Bombardier could not resolve.
Bombardier had accumulated a lot of labor disputes due to poor management. Now that there is a unified organization, and Bombardier is unlikely to improve financially in the short term to fill the hole, these labor disputes will be fatal.
Judging from Ryan Valette's attitude, Bombardier can't hold on any longer.
"When you betrayed your credibility, you should have thought of this moment." Qin Xin sneered, "What do you Bombardiers want to do?"
Ryan Valette gritted his teeth and said, "The board of directors means to divest the aircraft business to Mr. Xu Cang at a symbolic price. However, in return, the debts of the aircraft business department will also be borne by Mr. Xu Cang."
"Debt?" Qin Xin smiled softly, "I can wait for you to go bankrupt, and then wait for the public auction to obtain the relevant technology. At that time, we don't need to bear the debt."
The corners of Ryan Valette's mouth twitched a few times. How come Qin Xin has the same personality as Xu Cang? It's true that they are not from the same family and they don't marry.
"Ms. Qin, Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' MRJ aircraft project also needs our technology. Even if we wait until the public auction, it will not be easy for you to compete with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries."
"You don't have to worry about this. Xu Cang will make Mitsubishi Heavy Industries understand that the MRJ aircraft project is destined to be a futile effort." Qin Xin was confident: "Except for Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, there seems to be no other strong competitors interested in your C series aircraft technology."
"Impossible. Japan's aircraft industry is much stronger than yours. Why do you think Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' MRJ project is useless?"
Qin Xin's eyes flashed with a cold light: "Mr. Valette, if you have experienced so many things and still stick the word impossible on Xu Cang, then it can only be said that you have not learned your lesson. Xu Cang can solve Kawasaki Heavy Industries, why can't he solve Mitsubishi Heavy Industries."
"Do you know that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is just a division of the Mitsubishi Group? Among the Fortune 500 companies, the Mitsubishi Group has ten. Do you want to fight them?"
"Mr. Varet, please watch your words." Qin Xin said in a cold voice: "There are some things I don't need you to teach me. Now I give you two choices. We can take over your previous debts, but you must not only divest the C Series aircraft business, but also the business jet business. However, we can allow you to retain a portion of the shares of the business jet business in order to obtain corresponding dividends."
As a result, Ryan Valette rejected it immediately: "Absolutely not. The business jet department is our most profitable department. How can we give it to you? The only company that the headquarters wants to divest is the C Series Aircraft Company."
"Then there is another way. Give us the entire rail transit department without retaining any shares. We want 100% of the shares." Qin Xin said firmly: "Pick one between business jets and rail transit. In addition, I advise you not to put your hopes on Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. They can't save you."
