Chapter 95 Selling Xu Cang
After Xu Cang realized that the Boeing 747 wet-leased by Blue Sky Airlines was likely to be the aircraft that would suffer a serious safety accident, he could no longer sleep.
He remembered the flight number clearly, but he was not so sure about the plane number, which should be 4724. Xu Cang had no interest in the history of civil aviation, so he knew some things but was not 100% sure.
But once memory is uncertain, it is useless to think about it, which makes Xu Cang a little upset.
Xu Cang was in a state of confusion and had no mood to take a nap. He just put on some clothes and went downstairs to have breakfast. Then he changed into formal clothes and went to the company.
He has to attend another interview today. Although Flight 9211 did not cause any casualties and the impact is controllable, the abnormal dispatch of a large area of airspace still needs to be investigated seriously.
If no problems are found in today's conversation, the investigation project that Xu Cang is participating in will be over. Of course, this is based on the premise that no problems are found. If the bureau staff feel that something has not been explained clearly or detects any abnormality, the investigation time can be extended at any time, and there is no upper limit. Xu Cang must cooperate unconditionally.
However, considering the relatively harmonious atmosphere of yesterday's interview, today's problems should not be too big. Xu Cang did not want to waste too much time on this, after all, he still had time to accumulate experience.
After being promoted to the first-level co-pilot, the transfer to the second-level co-pilot is very quick and the transfer method is also very simple. No route inspection is required, only an oral interview is required. The key is to be promoted to the third-level co-pilot.
After seeing the photo of the 747, Xu Cang was restless and even felt that his mouth had no taste when he ate breakfast. He just ate some fried dough sticks and soy milk and went to the company.
Xu Cang's plan was to find Lu Jinghua after dealing with the authorities and ask him about the situation of the 747 in person. After all, if the situation really developed according to his memory, the safety accident of this 747 could destroy an airline of the size of Blue Sky Airlines in an instant.
Blue Sky Airlines cannot fail, at least not yet! Moreover, the safety accident caused a huge number of casualties. Even for humanitarian reasons, Xu Cang must do his best to avoid the accident.
The most urgent task is to determine whether the aircraft with the license plate number 4724 is the 747 that crashed in his memory .
Xu Cang went to the company and went directly to the small meeting room where he had the meeting yesterday. The original meeting time was 9:30 in the morning, but when Xu Cang arrived it was only 9 o'clock, which was already much earlier. But when he came over, he found that Jin Fuli was already sitting inside.
"Captain Jin, are you here so early?" Xu Cang put down his backpack and found a chair to sit down: "Doesn't it start at 9:30?"
Jin Fuli was just fiddling with his phone. When he heard Xu Cang coming in, he smiled and said, "I'm old and don't sleep much. You're young, shouldn't you sleep in? Why are you here so early?"
"I was upset and couldn't fall asleep after I woke up." Xu Cang asked casually, "Captain Jin, if nothing happens today, we can draw a conclusion, right?"
If it is a plane crash, it usually takes a long time to draw a conclusion. But if it is just an unsafe incident, it usually won't take too long. If it takes several years like the investigation of a plane crash, the pilot involved will have to stop working for several years, which is too outrageous.
Jin Fuli nodded: "Almost. The situation is quite obvious. You seem very anxious?"
"I need time. If this matter is not concluded, I can't fly."
"It's okay. Our company has some unspoken rules. For people like you who have missed flights because of cooperating with the investigation, the planning office will appropriately increase the number of subsequent flights for you after the investigation is completed."
"There is such a thing?" Xu Cang was overjoyed: "Do I need to tell the planning office about it?"
"No, the people in the planning department know what's going on." Jin Fuli said with a smile, "By the way, has any leader come to talk to you since yesterday?"
Xu Cang was stunned: "Our company leaders? No, aren't they all cooperating with the bureau's investigation?"
Xu Cang frowned, and sensed a hint of something unusual: "Captain Jin, is there something wrong?"
"I met someone yesterday. It was unlucky." Jin Fuli waved his hand: "It's fine if I didn't find you. Forget it."
"What's going on?" Xu Cang saw that Jin Fuli didn't say anything, and he still felt a little strange in his heart, as if Jin Fuli was hiding something. But Jin Fuli didn't want to say it, so he didn't dare to ask.
However, from a personal point of view, Xu Cang still felt that Jin Fuli was a good person and would not intentionally harm him, so he just thought about it and let it go.
…
In the exclusive VIP lounge of Muhua Airlines at Jianchuan Airport, Liu Minxue and Ma Cheng were leisurely drinking coffee. Liu Minxue had already seen Xu Cang, and the purpose of this trip had been achieved, so it was time to go back.
Muhua Airlines is worthy of being a state-owned enterprise. It also has its own exclusive VIP lounge, which Blue Sky Airlines does not have.
Ma Cheng put down the cup, still a little confused on his face: "Were the conditions you offered Luo Yong yesterday too high?"
When they met with Luo Yong last night, since the proposal Luo Yong put forward was too tempting, Ma Cheng had no reason to refuse, and accordingly, the exchange price for Xu Cang also changed.
Liu Minxue meant to change to two domestic routes, one of which would be guaranteed to be a premium route.
Even for Muhua Airlines, boutique routes are not given out casually. Boutique routes can not only generate huge profits, but also generate positive feedback for the airline's brand, which is equivalent to the airline's face, so it is naturally extremely important.
"Why are you still entangled in the gains and losses of a city or a place?" Liu Minxue knocked on the table, dissatisfied with Ma Cheng's short-sightedness: "In the past, he was indeed not worth a boutique route. Although I intend to bring him here to fix the atmosphere of our company's fleet, it is indeed not necessary to pay such a high price. But now it is different. Boeing is very uncomfortable with the 777 problem. The European EASA is increasingly dissatisfied with the 777 problem. This has led to a sharp increase in the difficulty of the 777 obtaining a joint airworthiness certificate in Europe. Xu Cang is likely to be the key to helping Boeing overcome the difficulties . Do you think it is worth it to use a boutique route to grasp Boeing's lifeline?"
Liu Minxue really admired Xu Cang, but appreciation would not change Liu Minxue's evaluation of the energy that a single pilot could generate. As a downstream executive position, there were too few things a single pilot could influence.
What is the difference between a flight operated by Xu Cang and a flight operated by an ordinary captain? There is no difference!
Xu Cang's role is reflected in special situations, and they must be extremely difficult to handle. However, such things rarely happen, and there is no obvious universality, so they can only be regarded as individual cases.
In Liu Minxue's opinion, Xu Cang's value is not even as good as that of a senior manager with outstanding abilities.
Liu Minxue wanted to recruit Xu Cang from the beginning because of the vigor and spirituality that Xu Cang exuded. Muhua Airlines has a long history, but it also lacks vitality internally. The huge fleet feels lifeless, and everyone is just getting by.
As the saying goes, "two bears stick together", Liu Minxue wanted to make Xu Cang a template and role model for pilots within Muhua Airlines, so as to reverse the fleet's chronic problems.
Liu Minxue initially offered the joint operating rights of international routes and two mid-to-low-level domestic routes to match his positioning of Xu Cang, a tool man whose influence was limited to the flight department.
But yesterday, he received EASA's latest attitude towards the Boeing 777, and the nature of the matter changed.
A talented pilot is of no use in most cases, but at certain special moments, the energy of a talented pilot can be infinitely elevated.
The problem with the FAA is actually easier to deal with, but the situation is different with EASA in Europe. With the inherent bad impression of the Boeing 777, won't the EASA auditors raise the difficulty to the sky? Moreover, EASA is destined not to give Boeing the so-called extra chance.
If you can't pass the review once, then the second application will be extremely troublesome. The airworthiness review of an aircraft model is not like a pilot's inspection that fails and you can wait a month and do it again. Just going through the process is enough to give Boeing a headache.
The Boeing 777 has already lagged behind the Airbus 330. If it cannot catch up in one go, the extent of its lag will basically mean that the Boeing 777 model has failed.
However, it is extremely difficult to pass the EASA audit and verification in one go. At this time, under the premise that the Boeing 777 itself cannot be upgraded, the role of the pilot is infinitely elevated.
Boeing has never needed a talented pilot as much as it does now, and has even opened the core position of Chief Technology Officer to the world.
"You are so optimistic about Xu Cang, but he is not the only genius in the world." Ma Cheng understood Liu Minxue's logic, but it did not mean that he agreed with Liu Minxue's positioning of Xu Cang.
Liu Minxue smiled and said, "Because I also believe in Chen Xiangdong's vision."
"Chen Xiangdong, Xu Cang's teacher at the aviation school?" Ma Cheng frowned. "I know Xu Cang is highly regarded at the flight academy, but could it be that Chen Xiangdong has a private affair? After all, Chen Xiangdong is the dean."
Liu Minxue sneered, "If Chen Xiangdong could be so sophisticated, he would not be Dean Chen, but Director Chen. Those people in Blue Sky Airlines don't understand Xu Cang's value at all, and they can't bring out Xu Cang's value. Xu Cang should be in my Muhua's trap. It's just a boutique route. We can get more from Boeing!"
…
Inside the Blue Sky Air Base building, Xu Cang finished the conversation with the bureau, which ended much earlier today than yesterday. As Xu Cang had expected, the atmosphere of the entire conversation was relatively good, and from the bureau's few words, Xu Cang felt that there should be no major problems .
As Jin Fuli said before, he should be able to fly again soon.
After the bureau's investigation, Xu Cang originally planned to go to Lu Jinghua to ask about the 747. However, when he found his office, he found that Lu Jinghua was not there, and no one answered his phone call, which made Xu Cang not know what to do.
Just when Xu Cang was thinking about where to find Lu Jinghua, Xu Cang received a call from Xia Shuyue, and then Xia Shuyue took the initiative to find Xu Cang.
Xia Shuyue mysteriously pulled Xu Cang to the stairwell, took out a wad of money from her bag, and handed it directly to Xu Cang: "Brother, take this money!"
Xu Cangke didn't take the money: "Why are you giving me money?"
"Boss Xin said that I performed well at 9211 and rewarded me with 10,000 yuan. But you are the one who did all the hard work at 9211, so I'll give you half of it."
In this era, civil aviation has not experienced significant development, and the salary of flight attendants is only half of what it will be ten years later. Ten thousand yuan is about two months' salary for a flight attendant, which is quite good.
"You deserve this money, why give it to me! You performed well on Flight 9211." Xu Cang did not take the money, but gave Xia Shuyue a thumbs up. As a novice flight attendant, Xia Shuyue did perform very well when Flight 9211 crashed, so it made sense for the cabin department to reward her.
"elder brother!"
"Be obedient!" Xu Cang took the money and stuffed it back into Xia Shuyue's bag: "If you really want to thank me, next time we spend the night together, you can just treat me to a meal and forget about the money."
Xia Shuyue probably forgot that the general manager of their department would also award Xu Cang the award for the best flight attendant of the quarter. The bonus should be at least more than 10,000 yuan!
Seeing that Xu Cang was very persistent, Xia Shuyue did not insist any more, but replied cutely: "Okay!"
"Have you resumed flight?" Xu Cang asked.
Xia Shuyue nodded: "I've finished my work there, and I'm ready for tomorrow's shift. Brother, are you still under investigation? The flight department is probably going to be much stricter."
"Oh, it should be..." Xu Cang was halfway through his words when he suddenly noticed a figure that appeared not far away, silently, which really scared Xu Cang. When Xu Cang saw the man clearly, he was speechless: "Master, what are you doing! Walking silently will scare people to death!"
The person who came was Xu Cang's master Chen Xiangdong.
"You are the one who is always startled." Chen Xiangdong walked over slowly, but his eyes were always on Xia Shuyue. As he approached, Chen Xiangdong raised his right hand, flicked his finger, and pointed at Xia Shuyue: "You want to stay in Lantian, isn't it because of this girl?"
Xu Cang held his forehead and said helplessly: "Master, please don't talk nonsense. It's not good for the reputation of this little girl."
However, Chen Xiangdong directly ignored Xu Cang's explanation and looked at Xia Shuyue amiably: "Girl, what's your name?"
Chen Xiangdong had been at Blue Sky Airlines these days, and Xia Shuyue knew him. But she didn't expect that the bureau representative was actually Xu Cang's master.
"Dean Chen, my name is Xia Shuyue." Xia Shuyue said obediently.
"Shuyue, Shuyue, what a good name!" Chen Xiangdong asked again: "What do your parents do?"
Xu Cang was completely speechless. Why was Chen Xiangdong checking the household registration?
"Master, what are you talking about?"
However, Xia Shuyue told him everything she knew: "Dean Chen, both my parents are teachers."
"Teacher, good, good!" Chen Xiangdong was quite satisfied. He took another look at Xia Shuyue's appearance. She was indeed a top-notch beauty. He suddenly felt that Xu Cang had good taste. "Girl, I'm going back soon. Xu Cang is a young man who doesn't know much. You have to bear with him in the future."
Xu Cang's face turned red when he heard this. What the hell was going on?
Xia Shuyue nodded seriously, "I remember it all!"
…
Lu Jinghua, whom Xu Cang had been unable to find, was nowhere else but in the office of Luo Yong, the vice president of operations.
At this moment, the door of Luo Yong's office was closed and a rare quarrel was breaking out inside.
"Mr. Luo, it is too much for a company of our size to maintain a 747. One 747 requires the profits of almost eight other aircraft to maintain, not to mention the cost of wet-leasing the units. Can we really afford it?" Facing his boss, Lu Jinghua made no secret of his doubts about the wet-leasing of 747s, and his words were quite fierce.
"You're the only one who understands this. I don't understand this. The leaders above don't understand this?" Luo Yong slammed the table fiercely, and he seemed to be in a state of emotional instability. "There is no free lunch in this world. None of the three major airlines are willing to cooperate in the previous joint operation model. We can only make concessions. I know that our company has suffered a loss in this matter, but in order to enter the international route market, this is a necessary sacrifice. For half a year, we only need to operate at a loss for half a year. In half a year, we can still hold on."
Lu Jinghua said sullenly, "Boss Luo, I understand what you mean. Half a year later, the authority will agree to our international operating qualifications, and the 777 will be officially put into commercial use. But what if any of these two things go wrong? There's no need to push ourselves so hard!"
"What do you know?" Mr. Luo immediately refuted Lu Jinghua: "Recently, the authorities intend to relax civil aviation control. This is the best opportunity for non-state-owned enterprises like us to enter the international market. We didn't even dare to think about it before. If we don't take advantage of this opportunity to get things done, what if the authorities start to tighten the policy again? The timid will starve to death, and the bold will die of gluttony. If we develop steadily, we will never grow to the size of the Big Three airlines."
To be honest, there is nothing wrong with the idea of Luo Yong or the decision-makers of Blue Sky Airlines. The policy window period is not always there. If Blue Sky Airlines fails to grasp it, it may only be a second-rate airline for the rest of its life. It can only be said that the decision-makers of Blue Sky Airlines are ambitious.
However, Lu Jinghua still felt that the cooperation with Muhua Airlines was too much of a benefit.
Luo Yong didn't even give Lu Jinghua a chance to speak: "Don't say anything, the plane and crew will be here soon. Your flight department will organize a small welcoming party. Got it?"
Seeing that Luo Yong didn't listen to him at all, Lu Jinghua knew that he was powerless to change the situation, so he could only nod helplessly, as a sign of his agreement.
"Then Mr. Luo, I'll go back first." Unable to persuade Luo Yong, Lu Jinghua didn't want to stay here anymore and wanted to go back to his office.
Just as Lu Jinghua was about to leave, Luo Yong suddenly said, "There is one more thing. Mu Hua wants Xu Cang. Please talk to Fei Biao and ask them to sort out Xu Cang's files and send them to Mu Hua later."
"What?" Lu Jinghua couldn't believe his ears: "Boss Luo, does Xu Cang know about this? Is he going to Muhua too?"
Luo Yong snorted: "What does his opinion matter? Is it something I need to consider? He is an asset of the company. I am just disposing of the company's assets."
"Boss Luo, how can we do this?"
"Why can't this be done?" Luo Yong stared at Lu Jinghua with an unfriendly look: "Lu Jinghua, there is something I want to ask you. When you went to meet Mu Hua's people yesterday, they proposed a condition to exchange Xu Cang. Why didn't you tell me?"
Lu Jinghua didn't hide it anymore: "Boss Luo, Xu Cang is a good talent. Are we just going to send him away like this?"
"Good seedling, what's the use of a good seedling? I admit that he flies well, but so what? What's the use of flying out flowers?" Luo Yong asked suddenly.
At this point, Lu Jinghua was speechless. He really didn't know how to answer this question. It seemed that a single pilot really had no substantial role and could only have a small impact.
"Maybe he can become a good candidate for leadership, such as becoming the chief engineer of our company in the future?" This was the only reason Lu Jinghua could think of for now.
"If Wang Xuan can switch to a premium route, I would also be happy to send him out." Luo Yong sneered: "He is a rising star at the moment, but can he bring substantial revenue growth to the company? He can't, but the premium route can!"
After hearing this, Lu Jinghua didn't know how to refute: "What about the bet between me and Li Chenxing, the chief designer of Feiyu Aviation?"
Xu Cang is still carrying a bet on a shipping route!
"Just give them that useless route, whatever they want!" Luo Yong seemed to have made up his mind: "This matter has been settled, it's the will of the higher-ups, there will be no change. Things have not been going well recently, it would be bad to sell him off right after he dealt with the 9211 incident. So let's wait for more than a month, wait until the 9211 incident is settled, and then directly transfer his work relationship to Mu Hua, that's it!"
